LEWIS COUNTY, W. Va. — Three years to the day after her disappearance, there are still no leads to finding now 6-year-old Aliayah Lunsford, but her family and community are not giving up hope.
On Wednesday, loved ones gathered at Jackson’s Mill Baptist Church for a service to help keep her memory and the search alive.
“We want to refresh everybody’s memory that Aliayah is still missing,” Tina Smith, Aliayah’s aunt said.
Those in attendance released balloons as the sun set, then sang hymns and spoke words of encouragement before having a candlelight vigil.
Afterwards, the community embraced the family, as they have done since the day of the disappearance, September 24, 2011.
“The community’s come together to remember Aliayah and not let her be forgotten and Jackson’s Mill Baptist Church, they’ve been wonderful to help us get everything together,” Smith said.
Aliayah was last seen at her family’s home in the Bendale area in the morning hours, but several hours later, her mother, Lena, reported the girl had disappeared.
The search has been massive from law enforcement officers and volunteers, even garnering national attention. However, there have been no signs of the girl and no charges have been made in the case.
“If anybody, at all, even with the littlest tidbit of information they think is nothing, it my be the information law enforcement needs to bring her home,” Smith said. “She’s been missing three years. Three years too long.”
Since she has gone missing, Aliayah’s mother has been consistently in legal trouble for welfare fraud. She was first arrested in 2012 for illegally selling food stamps and has been in an out of prison, repeatedly violating parole. Most recently, she turned herself in to U.S. Marshals Tuesday and will spend 3 months at the federal prison camp in Alderson.
Where Aliayah’s parents have been absent, her other family members have continued to work for any opportunity to spread the word.
“So we can let her face be out there and name be out there, so we can bring her home,” Smith said.
Anyone with any information is asked to contact the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office at 304-269-8241 or any other law enforcement agency.