Family and friends are pleading for the safe return of a 17-year-old Carpentersville girl, who loved ones said disappeared Monday night while on the way to a holiday party.
“Please, please just help us because she’s not a bad girl,” said Jocelyn Rubi Romero, the sister of Brissa Romero. “She graduated high school early as a junior with me.”
Friday marked four days since anyone has seen or heard from the 17-year-old.
“One thing about our family, we all share our locations with our parents,” Brissa's sister said. “She called my mom at 6:55 p.m. and said she was on the way over here, and my mom kept looking at her location, and she was heading over here, but around the time that she arrived, she did not call my mom.”
Carpentersville police said officers conducted an extensive search Friday near Bowlero in Vernon Hills, where her phone last pinged. Family believed Brissa was on her way to the bowling alley for a holiday work party, but police said no one at the party saw her.
Jocelyn Rubi Romero said they lost her sister’s location after 8 p.m.
“We came over here, we didn’t see her car anywhere, and that’s when we took precautions and said, 'look this is serious,'" she said.
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Police used drones for their search on Friday and surveyed the local ponds for her vehicle. It is described as a gray 2008 Nissan Rouge with Illinois license plate number CZ64618. They also patrolled other nearby areas and hotels for any signs of the teenager.
“She’s currently in Harper College, she’s studying to be an ultrasound technician and all she does is literally just work. She has two jobs,” she said. “She goes to school, she’s a very hard-working and loving girl.”
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Police said Romero was last seen on surveillance video while visiting a family member in Des Plaines. Authorities said she doesn’t have a history of mental health challenges or running away from home. Police were working to review her social media accounts.
