Search party forms for missing West Virginia woman

CLARKSBURG, W.Va. (WBOY) — A search party was formed outside a West Virginia court house Saturday afternoon to look for Christa Merrill , who has been missing since late August.

Organizers of the search party said they have not had any leads or sightings of Merrill since Aug. 27 and felt it was time to search the area for any information. She was last seen wearing a hoodie and sweatpants in the Washington Avenue area of Clarksburg, West Virginia.

She told her family she would return to Fairmont the following day, but she never arrived.

A $2,500 reward is being offered for any information leading to her safe return.

Christa’s mother Susan Cherubino pleaded for her daughter to make contact with someone or to come home.

“I love you, I miss you, everybody loves you, everybody misses you,” Cherubino said. “We want you to come home, please come home if you possibly can.”

Family members said they have been searching for Merrill for weeks and that it is not like her to avoid contact with them. Merrill’s family has been in touch with police, trying to gather information on her whereabouts.

Christa’s brother Dylan is also hoping for her safe return.

“The last time we heard from Christa was Aug. 26, and she said she would be home tomorrow. No one has heard from her or seen her since,” Dylan said. “You know, it’s just heartbreaking, and we’re just out on the mean streets looking for her, praying every day that we find her, that she comes home.”

The nonprofit Voices for the Silenced also joined in on the search for Merrill. Organizers saw the family posting on social media and offered to lend a hand in helping with the search in Clarksburg.

Advocate Deborah Brown explained how she and the nonprofit help raise awareness for missing person cases.

“We’re here today to conduct a search pass out flyers, hang flyers, go door-to-door, follow the route from where she was last seen to see if there’s anything we can find or anybody who has seen her who maybe doesn’t even know yet that she’s missing and say, ‘hey, yeah, I saw her. I saw her the other day on such and such street,’ you know, we just, we have to get out there and make it known to everybody that she is still missing and her family just wants her home.”

Local authorities have not commented on the investigation at this time. If you have any information about Christa Merrill or her whereabouts, you can contact the Harrison County Sheriff’s Department at 304-624-8550.

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