Family, Friends Desperate for Clues in Case of Michigan Woman's Disappearance

"We're terrified that she's been taken and that someone has her, and she can't come home," her mother told Dateline

Family and friends are still holding out hope for a 28-year-old Farmington Hills, Michigan, woman who has been missing for a month.

Danielle Stislicki has not been seen since leaving work around 5 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 2, according to police. Stislicki works at MetLife, a life insurance company in Southfield, a northern suburb of Detroit, less than 10 miles from her Farmington Hills apartment.

People who spoke to her earlier that day say she was planning on stopping home after work before meeting her best friend for dinner that evening. Stislicki never showed up to her scheduled dinner, according to police, and concern quickly grew when calls to her cell phone were being forwarded directly to voicemail.

"Danielle would never just disappear on her own," Ann Stislicki, Danielle's mother, told Dateline. "We're terrified that she's been taken and that someone has her, and she can't come home."

Stislicki has worked at MetLife for nearly a decade, her family says. Her mother Ann also has worked for the company for 25 years, but was not in the office that Friday.

Farmington Hills police say Stislicki was wearing a sky blue Eddie Bauer jacket, jeans, a black zip-up shirt and burgundy boots the day that she disappeared. Her car, a 2015 Jeep Renegade, was found by authorities the next day, around 6 p.m. on Dec. 3, parked in front of her apartment building in the Independence Green Apartment Complex.

"Everything was there: her cat, her ID, cash, credit cards," Danielle's mother Ann told Dateline. "We don't think she even made it inside her apartment after work."

The Farmington Hills Police Department issued a statement Dec. 19 that said it is believed the young woman was the victim of a crime.

Authorities are also searching for Danielle's set of keys, according to NBC News, which they say have a distinctive key charm: a smiling yellow figure with a green body and yellow legs. Danielle's cell phone, a Samsung Galaxy Core Prime in a rose-colored case, is also missing.

"It's a tremendously busy street that MetLife is on,” her mother Ann told NBC News. “Someone had to have seen that Jeep or Danielle driving that day. We just need to reach that one or two people who saw something.”

A “Find Danielle Stislicki” Facebook page created by friends has since grown to nearly 30,000 followers. More than $29,000 has been raised in a Go Fund Me campaign set up for a reward for information leading to her whereabouts. After both her employer MetLife and Independence Green Apartments contributed $50,000 to the cause, the total reward amount stands at $129,000. A website, finddani.org, has also been set up that allows volunteers to print fliers to join the effort.

“Danielle is a wonderful human being who has many family and friends who love her dearly,” the Go Fund Me campaign writes. “We want Dani home and need everyone's help.”

Stislicki’s parents, Ann and Richard Stislicki, were among nearly 500 people who gathered in Southfield last month for a candlelight vigil, pushing the message of positivity and perseverance.

“It’s been a month now, so you can imagine what’s in our minds,” Ann Stislicki told the Detroit Free Press of herself and her husband, Richard. “We try not to go to that dark place, but that gets harder the longer this goes on.”

Farmington Hills police have told the Stislickis they are working “day and night” on the case of their missing daughter, according to the Detroit Free Press, but any additional details surrounding the investigation have not been made public.

"Investigators have collected evidence currently under analysis and examination," Farmington Hills police said in a statement. "No information will be released regarding the specifics of the case in order to maintain the integrity of an active investigation."

Authorities searched a home in Berkley, Michigan, in relation to the case, the Detroit Free Press reports, but Farmington Hills Police Chief Chuck Nebus declined to say what the connection is.

“It’s hard to stay positive. ... You cry a lot,” Ann Stislicki told the Detroit Free Press. “She’s strong and can get through this. Everyone wants to give Danielle a hug. We miss her, and we want her to come home.”

The focus is to keep Danielle Stislicki's name and story in the public's eye, her family said in an interview with NBC News.

"We're screaming from the top of the mountain," Ann Stislicki told NBC News. "People have seen Danielle. We will not stop until we have her home with us. It's not even a thought."

Anyone with information regarding the case, or who may have seen Danielle or her Jeep on Dec. 2, is urged to call the Farmington Hills Police Department at (248) 871-2610.

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