Search continues for missing Randolph County teen
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
Volunteers were set to return to the Rudolf Bennitt Conservation Area in Randolph County to continue searching for a missing 16-year-old on Monday.
Kayla Huff has been missing since Wednesday. Dozens of volunteers have been searching the 3,500-acre conservation area southeast of Higbee on foot and horseback for the past several days. One volunteer also told ABC 17 News that officials were seen searching the air with drones and Bennitt Lake with boats.
"They're mapping everywhere that they're searching so that way they can mark those off the grid and make sure that they're getting every area here covered," Kayla Huff's father, Mike Huff, said.
Huff's parents reported that volunteers have come from as far as New York, and donations of food and water from across mid-Missouri.
"I had a guy reach out to me Saturday morning and they brought a two-seat helicopter and went all over the area, anywhere that we requested he'd drive over," Kayla Huff's mother, Renee Huff said. "There's some people that we know or Kayla knew, but I would say we've had as many people that we don't know."
Huff was reportedly last seen in her Moberly neighborhood with a 17-year-old boy. The poster describes Huff as 5 feet 7 inches tall with long braided hair.
Randolph County Sheriff's Office also arrested a 17-year-old on Friday in connection with Kayla Huff's disappearance. The sheriff did not disclose the person's gender.
The Sheriff's office did not respond to questions on whether the 17-year-old arrested was the same person last seen with Huff.
Huff's parents described her as a social butterfly, always with a big smile on her face.
"She's gotten messages from people that she worked with that have just had nothing but good things to say and said, 'that no matter how bad my day was, I could come in and Kayla would be smiling and happy and talking to me and giving me hugs,'" Mike Huff, said.
Kayla Huff's parents add that they plan to continue the search, adding that volunteers or people looking to donate resources should reach out to them through social media or the Moberly Police Department.
"It's just frustrating because we're not going to be satisfied until we find our daughter," Mike Huff, said.
