Family seeks information on whereabouts of missing teen
The family of a missing Fort Myers teen continues to look for answers concerning the girl’s whereabouts following her disappearance last Thursday.
Her mother is optimistic that her daughter will be spotted safe and sound.
“I really hope she’s close by,” Marcy Spence said. “We’ve been reaching out to all her friends to show we love her and want her home.”
Kaiyana Spence, 16, has been missing since Thursday afternoon. Mrs. Spence said she left her at the bus stop Thursday morning to go to Cypress Lake High School.
Kaiyana was last seen at nearby Rutenberg Park after school to meet a friend, according to the report from the Lee County Sheriff’s Office.
Spence said the problems may have started on Monday when she argued with Kaiyana after found a pack of cigarettes and an iPhone that doesn’t belong to her in her bag.
“She claimed it was another band kid’s. I contacted the parents and she said it wasn’t hers,” Spence said. “I think the phone can help us track some of her movement, but it isn’t set up to make phone calls.”
Spense said wi-fi will allow you to use some of the aspects of the iPhone, such as download apps and that it was likely Kaiyana was using it as a second phone to go on social media to sites such as Meetme, a dating site dedicated to teens, as well as Snapshot and Kick.
Spence said her daughter was forbidden to go on those sites and that the phone she had from her parents had none of those sites on it.
Spence said Kaiyana had briefly been on her Meetme account in July, but there was no activity until two weeks ago, which coincides with the time she broke up with her boyfriend.
Even though Kaiyana has been missing for five days, Marcy said losing optimism is not an option. Still, there is understandably much anxiety that has taken a toll on all of them.
“We have to stay in that state. Our family is lucky that we have each other to lean on when any of us gets overwhelmed or feeling that she’s gone. The other picks up the slack for support,” Spence said.
“Nothing feels right. I never really suffered from anxiety, but I feel I can understand those who have it feel. It’s awful. The pit of your stomach is in knots and you try to eat and it hurts more.” Spence said.
Spence said she has a good relationship with her daughter, with their disagreements being nothing out of the ordinary.
“She’s a teenager and she wants to do things that aren’t safe and I can’t condone. She knows other kids do those things and that their parents are okay with that,” Spence said. “It wasn’t perfect, but we had a great relationship. I support her at school and in music and theater company.”
Spence is a black female with a light complexion, 5-feet-11-inches tall, 160 lbs., with brown eyes and curly, shoulder length brown hair.
She was last seen wearing jeans, a white tank top, a grayish-brown sweater and black-framed glasses.
Monday, there was a tip that she was on Fort Myers Beach. That tip did not pan out. There was also a lady who said she may have seen Kaiyana walking down U.S. 41 around midnight, but that did not lead anywhere, either.
Because there is no evidence of abduction, there was no Amber Alert as of Tuesday evening.
The Cypress Lake community is doing all it can to help the search. Members of the high school band, of which Spence was a member, met Tuesday to pass out fliers.
The family has started Find Kaiya Spence Facebook page. They have also reached out to all her friends and gotten her name out in the media and were contacted by Good Morning America, though it was unclear if they would feature her, Marcy said.
Melissa Reed, a family friend from church, said she was devastated when she learned the news after coming home from Orlando.
“I broke down I was so upset I didn’t know what to do with myself. It broke my heart,” Reed said, who would talk to Kaiyana about school and her activities.
Reed said she has been posting any news on Kaiyana on Facebook and is also going around passing out fliers and spreading the word.
Reed had a message for Kaiyana and anyone who may know here whereabouts; her words to her are that her parents love her and want her home.
“Families aren’t perfect, but they love her and are heartbroken. I saw her sister today and she’s so upset,” Reed said.
Anyone with any information regarding Kaiyana is asked to call the Lee County Sheriff’s Office at 477-1000.