YATES CENTER — The family of Lia Seely is offering a $10,000 reward for any information leading to the location of the Yates Center teen who has been missing for nearly a month.
Yates Center Assistant Police Chief Vinson Baker announced during a press conference Friday the reward in a renewed plea for information
Seely, who turned 16 on March 22, has been missing since she left her mother’s home the evening of March 1, where Baker said she was seen getting into a vehicle with three individuals “conspiring” to get Seely away from the residence. Baker does not believe she was forcibly abducted.
The trio took Seely to Parsons, where she and an acquaintance were dropped off. She and the acquaintance split ways from there.
The acquaintance has subsequently cooperated with law enforcement, Baker said.
Other potential acquaintances have been named and investigated.
Two suspects were arrested in Parsons and face charges related to interfering with parental custody and contributing to the delinquency of a child. Their identities have not been released.
Both suspects have subsequently cooperated with law enforcement, Baker said.
But the trail has gone cold.
Even with tips still coming in as recently as this week, none have led to Seely’s return. A tip stemming from a national missing and exploited child database led to reported sightings of Seely as far away as Ohio and California. Both reports have since been vetted and debunked, Baker said.
“It is my belief she is being harbored and aided in her disappearance by people willingly concealing her from law enforcement,” he said.
Officers suspect she may still be in the Parsons area, “only because I have not been able to prove she has left there,” Baker said.
Baker also spoke out against what he called online harassment against persons of interest who have been identified through social media.
“I would like for that to cease,” he said.
The Parsons Police Department continues to work with the Yates Center Police Department on the investigation. The Kansas Bureau of Investigation and Kansas Highway Patrol have assisted as well.
Baker spelled out his growing concern about Seely’s circumstances, nearly four weeks after she disappeared.
“My concern is, I have a now 16-year-old female who has no life skills, who has no means of survival,” Baker said. “She does not have a cell phone, does not have any money. And she is on her own on the streets.”
