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OGDEN — An Ogden teen disappeared last month without a trace, leaving family and friends desperate for answers.
"It is like she just vanished," said Bryanna Jacobson, talking about the disappearance of her close friend Alexis Rasmussen.
The disappearance of the 16-year-old has stumped her friends, family, and even police. Rasmussen left a babysitting job in Ogden on Sept.10 at around midnight and never came home.
With no car, money or clothes, Jacobson says her friend wouldn't have run away. "I'm really trying to stay positive and just tell myself that she's going to come home, but I fear the worst, and I think we all do," she said.
Rasmussen's family and friends have posted fliers everywhere. Jacobson also started a Facebook page) to spread the word.
The Internet is something Richard Davis didn't have to rely on when his daughter, Kiplyn, disappeared on May 2, 1995.
"So we made our own posters. My family helped me put it up in different areas, and I went looking for her. I had friends helping me look for her," Davis said.
He said he had an instant feeling his daughter was in trouble, even though police initially classified her as a runaway.
"She wasn't streetwise," Davis said. "She didn't have any money. She didn't have her purse with her or her retainer for her teeth."
He got the FBI involved, which eventually led to a murder investigation.
"You have to use every resource you possibly can to find that person," Davis says.
One local police agency not involved in either case says law enforcement takes every missing person's case seriously, working with the information the families provide.
The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children also works closely with police. Leaders of the organization say each year 800,000 kids, mostly runaways, are reported as missing. Nearly all of them are recovered.
Jacobson hopes her childhood friend is one of them. "If everyone can just keep their eye out and just (be aware) that these kids are missing," she said. "That would be a really good thing."
Anyone with information about Alexis Rasmussen and her whereabouts is asked to call the Ogden police dispatch at 801-629-8221.
Email: syi@ksl.com
