Teen has been missing for a month. 'Someone knows something,' her mother says.
MONROE Phylicia Barnes' friends and family marked the one-month anniversary of her disappearance Friday with a prayer vigil and an offer of $25,000 for information that helps solve the case.
The reward offer was announced during a morning news conference at Union Academy, the Monroe charter school where Phylicia is a senior. The money would come from a school foundation designed to help students in need.
Barnes, who was 16 when she disappeared, was last seen Dec. 28 at the northwest Baltimore apartment of her stepsister Deena Barnes, whom Phylicia was visiting over the holidays. Her stepsister's ex-boyfriend told investigators the Monroe teen said she was leaving to get something to eat.
Numerous searches by Baltimore, state and federal authorities have turned up nothing.
Now the hope is that a financial incentive will help break the case.
"Someone knows something," said Phylicia's mother, Janice Sallis, who drove from her new home in Atlanta to attend the news conference Friday. Sallis moved from Monroe to Georgia this month, saying she wanted the support of family members.
Baltimore police have said that despite thousands of hours of investigative work, police have turned up nothing. Police spokesman Anthony Gugliemi said investigators theorize any break in the case would come from the public.
"We need someone who knows something to come forward," he said.
Union Academy Foundation raised more than $200,000 during its annual auction in November. Foundation officials said the reward would be offered through the Phil Hargett Memorial Fund, an arm of the foundation named for a former Monroe city leader who was the grandfather of several Union Academy students and who died late last year.
The school was a sea of purple Friday as students dressed in Phylicia's favorite color and hung purple ribbons on trees, doors and walls in and near the school. The spirit rock was painted purple with a message, "Phylicia we love you."
Earlier this week, the school staged a performance of music, poetry and dialogue, giving students a chance to express feelings about a classmate who disappeared, seemingly without a trace. The "Pray for Phylicia Barnes" Facebook page has more than 19,000 friends and is loaded with statements of hope and support from friends.
On Friday morning, about 90 minutes before the news conference, Union Academy students gathered on the football field behind the school for a prayer vigil. It's at least the third such vigil the students have conducted since the Monroe teen disappeared.
Sallis was flanked by a number of her daughter's classmates during Friday morning's news conference. She read a poem about her daughter and then said, "I love her, and I'm waiting to pick up on my nurturing of her."
The last major search for Barnes took place late last week, when police drained a well and rummaged through a large shed on property in southwest Baltimore. Earlier efforts included a major search of a city park, including the use of helicopters and police dogs. Baltimore police even sent divers into a park pond, looking for some clues.
The reward offer was announced during a morning news conference at Union Academy, the Monroe charter school where Phylicia is a senior. The money would come from a school foundation designed to help students in need.
Barnes, who was 16 when she disappeared, was last seen Dec. 28 at the northwest Baltimore apartment of her stepsister Deena Barnes, whom Phylicia was visiting over the holidays. Her stepsister's ex-boyfriend told investigators the Monroe teen said she was leaving to get something to eat.
Numerous searches by Baltimore, state and federal authorities have turned up nothing.
Now the hope is that a financial incentive will help break the case.
"Someone knows something," said Phylicia's mother, Janice Sallis, who drove from her new home in Atlanta to attend the news conference Friday. Sallis moved from Monroe to Georgia this month, saying she wanted the support of family members.
Baltimore police have said that despite thousands of hours of investigative work, police have turned up nothing. Police spokesman Anthony Gugliemi said investigators theorize any break in the case would come from the public.
"We need someone who knows something to come forward," he said.
Union Academy Foundation raised more than $200,000 during its annual auction in November. Foundation officials said the reward would be offered through the Phil Hargett Memorial Fund, an arm of the foundation named for a former Monroe city leader who was the grandfather of several Union Academy students and who died late last year.
The school was a sea of purple Friday as students dressed in Phylicia's favorite color and hung purple ribbons on trees, doors and walls in and near the school. The spirit rock was painted purple with a message, "Phylicia we love you."
Earlier this week, the school staged a performance of music, poetry and dialogue, giving students a chance to express feelings about a classmate who disappeared, seemingly without a trace. The "Pray for Phylicia Barnes" Facebook page has more than 19,000 friends and is loaded with statements of hope and support from friends.
On Friday morning, about 90 minutes before the news conference, Union Academy students gathered on the football field behind the school for a prayer vigil. It's at least the third such vigil the students have conducted since the Monroe teen disappeared.
Sallis was flanked by a number of her daughter's classmates during Friday morning's news conference. She read a poem about her daughter and then said, "I love her, and I'm waiting to pick up on my nurturing of her."
The last major search for Barnes took place late last week, when police drained a well and rummaged through a large shed on property in southwest Baltimore. Earlier efforts included a major search of a city park, including the use of helicopters and police dogs. Baltimore police even sent divers into a park pond, looking for some clues.
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