The mother of a 15-year-old Douglas High School sophomore is hoping someone will come forward with information about her daughter who has been missing since Oct. 30.
Teresa Taylor said her daughter, Ashley Eaken, was "in a little bit of trouble" with the Juvenile Probation Office, and disappeared about 11:30 p.m. Oct. 30.
The night Ashley left her Gardnerville Ranchos home, Taylor was sleeping on the couch.
"I heard the door open and close and she was nowhere to be seen," Taylor said. "Usually, I can catch her. I should have run a little faster."
Taylor said her daughter has a history of leaving home, but never for more than a night or two.
"She's disappeared for one day at a time and a couple of times for two days when she has money, but she's never left the state or done anything like this," she said.
Taylor believes her daughter may be in Sacramento or the Bay area and she is offering an undisclosed reward for her return.
Ashley is 5-feet, 1-inch tall and weighs 110 pounds. She has waist-length, curly black hair and hazel eyes. She has a nose ring in her right nostril and a lip ring on the left side of her mouth.
Taylor believes Ashley met up with a girl who called herself "China" whom she met this summer.
"This girl told her if she ever wanted to run away, she would take care of her, take her to Hawaii and pay for everything," Taylor said.
"I think she got mixed up with some people who tried to get her into prostitution," she said.
Based on information from Ashley's friends, Taylor believes her daughter is now in Sacramento or the Bay area.
"I had a sense of relief when I heard she had gotten away from these people, but I have no way of knowing if she's passed from one bad situation to the next and she just doesn't realize it," she said.
Taylor said she thinks when Ashley talks with her friends, she is able to convince them she is with trustworthy people.
"If any of you have teenagers who may know anything at all that may be of any use to us or the authorities, please stress to them that we do not have time to stall," Taylor wrote in a flier she distributed throughout the community.
"She has already placed herself in situations that could be very costly. She is dealing with very dangerous people and I don't think that her friends understand that fully," she said.
Douglas County sheriff's investigator Ron Elges said the FBI is assisting with the search, but since Ashley is considered a runaway juvenile, the case doesn't meet the criteria for federal intervention.
"What makes this a higher priority for us is that she's been away for so long. In other cases, the juvenile runs for a couple of days, couch surfing with friends, then comes home. It's obvious she's not coming home. The answer I don't have is why," Elges said.
Elges said Ashley discarded her cell phone, but has been in contact with some of her friends. However, she hasn't disclosed her location.
"We've been out different nights and we believe the kids are telling the truth," he said. "We hope the information gets out and somebody sees her and knows her and contacts us."
Taylor said she thinks Ashley is afraid she'll be placed in juvenile detention at Aurora Pines.
"A couple of friends said they did try to talk her into coming home," Taylor said.
She said if she could get a message to her daughter, it would be:
"Ashley, we deeply love you and want to see you. Come home. There are a lot of open doors for you. Everything can be worked out," Taylor said.
She said she would encourage Ashley to contact a national runaway hotline that can offer her a place to stay and let her mother know she's safe.
"Everything there is confidential," Taylor said. "It would be just to know that she is safe."
YOU CAN HELP
Anyone with information about Ashley Eaken is asked to call:
n Teresa Taylor, 750-8621
n Douglas County sheriff's Investigator Ron Elges, 782-9907 or DCSO dispatch at 782-9911
n National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, 1-800-843-5678, case No. 1057381
n National Runaway Switchboard, 1-800-Runaway
