13-year-old girl from Gary, Indiana, missing for nearly 2 weeks, family says

GARY, Ind. (WLS) -- Family and friends of a missing teen from Gary organized a search party for her on Saturday.

Dalia Guerrero is wracked with worry. She says her 13-year-old granddaughter, Ja'Niyah McMichael, has been missing for nearly two weeks.

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"Just reach out. We just need to know you are okay," Guerrero said. "If somebody does have her, please just let her go."

The family says Ja'Niyah was last seen on the evening of August 11 at the Gary, Indiana, home she shares with her mother, Jasmine McMichael, and her siblings.

The home where the teen was last seen is located 1900 block of Malcom X Drive, Gary police said. She is 4'03" and about 110 pounds, and she was last seen wearing black pajamas, a black hooded sweatshirt and black and red shoes.

Jasmine says when she got up early the next morning to get the kids up for school, she found the home's front door ajar, the back door unlocked, and her oldest daughter gone.

"Just come home. That's all we want is for you to come home," Jasmine said.

Ja'Niyah's mother said some of the teen's clothes are also missing.

Family and friends lead their latest organized search Saturday for the teen, with the help of some volunteers.

"Because of the proximity, Gary and Chicago so close, we don't know if Ja'Niyah is still here in this area or if she has branched out," said Lisette Guillen with Case Files Chicago.

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"We want to bring Ja'Niyah home safe, and we want the community to come out and help us bring her home safe," said Sylvia Galvan with Circle of Love of Northwest Indiana.

Dog trainer Lorenzo Longoria and his canine, Thor, joined the search party too. The 5-year-old Shepard mix is one of two K-9 search dogs working on the case.

"It's a needle in a haystack, especially when there's no cellphone pings, no communication through social media," Longoria said.

Seven team members were dispatched Saturday to 12 areas in both Gary and Merrillville, where they did their searches and passed out fliers.

Ja'Niyah's family said she has never gone missing before. Concerns continue to grow, and those who know and love the teen promise to never give up hope.

"Ja'Niyah, come home, come home, come home," the missing teen's other grandmother, Yolanda Walker, said. "We all miss you. Come home."

The family is asking anyone with information about her whereabouts to call The Dock Ellis Foundation tip line at 888-222-6050. Gary police are also asking anyone with information to call 911 or reach out to Gary Police Department Juvenile Division Detective Gregory Fayson.