COLUMBUS – The parents of a missing Hilliard teenager say they have not given up hope that their daughter will be found alive.
“I believe she is still with us. We are very hopeful that she is here and that was not her intent, that maybe she was trying to make us think that was her plan but she possibly had other ideas,” Jamie Young told WBNS 10-TV.
The television station reported that police found a suicide note on her cellphone but that people have claimed on social media postings to have seen Payton at a Steak and Shake off Fishinger Road with another man.
Young’s 17-year-old daughter Payton was last seen Sunday and Columbus police say her vehicle was recovered empty and unlocked at Hayden Run Falls Park Sunday.
Anyone with any information concerning the whereabouts of Payton Young is asked to contact the Columbus Division of Police at 614-645-4624.
MISSING TEEN: Payton Young, age 17, was last seen yesterday, January 21, 2018.
Her vehicle was recovered at Hayden Run Falls Park. The search for her remains ongoing. At this hour, 1pm, CPD's dive team is at the Scioto River.
Payton is believed to be suicidal. Info-CPD: 645-4624. pic.twitter.com/QBy4m8LdIx— Columbus Division of Police (@ColumbusPolice) January 22, 2018
The Columbus police dive team searched the Scioto River Monday afternoon after Payton’s car was found but found no trace of her.
Jamie Young and her husband say their daughter came home from church on Sunday, then chatted with friends on social media before leaving their home.
Jamie said when she last saw Payton on Sunday, just after noon, her daughter told her she was going to see a friend.