Search continues for missing St. Charles teen Emily Czajkowski

ST. CHARLES, Ill. (WLS) -- The search for a 14-year-old girl who has been missing for days from suburban St. Charles is ramping up.

Neighbors, friends and even complete strangers are joining in to help fine the teen.

Police say Emily Czajkowski was last seen on Wednesday of last week. She was talking on her cell phone. The cell phone has since either run out of battery power or has been turned off.

Friends and volunteers have set up a message on the fence at Emily Czajkowski's middle school. She has been missing since last Wednesday when she was dropped off at the Pottawatamie Community Center for a dance class, but she never went to the class.

Instead, security video shows her walking away while talking on her cell phone. She was seen walking Wednesday evening in several other locations around St. Charles, but since then there's been no sign of her.

Friends have posted flyers with her picture and information all over town. They've also tied yellow and purple ribbons on posts throughout the community. Friends say those are her favorite colors.

The effort to find her is getting attention even from those who have never met Czajkowski or her family.

"I was very sad to see a young 14-year-old girl that's missing and it's definitely worth looking into," said Brandy Johnson.

Police released an alert which includes several pictures of Czajkowski. They say she was last seen wearing a brightly colored shirt, brightly colored dance shorts and blue knee high socks. She was carrying an oversized furry leopard patterned bag.

A Facebook page containing that information dedicated to finding Czajkowski is quickly gaining followers and being shared.

"I plan on posting it on Facebook," Johnson said. "I have a friend that owns the Riverhouse Barbeque and I'll pass the information along to him."

There were posts on Czajkowski's Facebook page last week in which she apparently threatened to harm herself. Those posts were quickly taken down.

There is a prayer service planned for Tuesday night at a St. Charles church.