A year after she disappeared, an aunt of Aliayah Lunsford says she thinks the three year old from Lewis County is still alive.
If not, "There would be something that we’d find, something," Tina Smith said on Monday’s MetroNews Talkline. "But there’s nothing. I mean, absolutely nothing."
Aliayah was last seen, asleep in her family’s home in Bendale, early on the morning on September 24th, 2011. Several hours later, her mother, Lena, told investigators the girl had disappeared.
Since then, despite massive search efforts from law enforcement officers and volunteers and national attention for the case, there have been no signs of the girl.
"A three year old doesn’t vanish like that," Smith said.
She is a half sister of Lena Lunsford who was sentenced to time in prison, earlier this year, for unrelated welfare fraud charges.
"Like everybody else, we’re left in the dark. We need answers. We need to know where she’s at," Smith said of the ongoing search for her niece.
"I have theories of what has happened but, I mean, a little girl that’s three years old just doesn’t vanish out of thin air. There’s no trace. There’s no nothing."
Smith was going to be part of a vigil for Aliayah on Monday night at Lewis County Armory. On Monday afternoon, a gathering for Aliayah was also held at the Lewis County Courthouse.
As the investigation now moves into its second year, Smith says they’re going to continue to push for answers.
"If we don’t have hope, then we’ve gave up and we’re not going to give up until we bring Aliayah home. That’s where she needs to be. She needs to be home," she said.
Tips about the girl’s disappearance are being taken at the West Virginia Fusion Center at 304-558-6592. Information can also be submitted through www.fusioncenterwv.gov.