Federal investigators are offering a cash reward to anyone with information that helps locate a missing 14-year-old Aroostook County girl.
FBI Assistant Special Agent Kim Milka said in a press conference at the Maine Department of Public Safety in Augusta on Monday that the agency will award up to $15,000 to anyone whose information leads to the location of Stefanie Damron and/or the arrest and prosecution of anyone who might be involved with her disappearance.
Damron was reported missing from her home in New Sweden on Sept. 24. The then-13-year-old girl ran into the nearby woods after an argument with her sister, according to relatives. Her disappearance has prompted local citizens to launch their own search efforts, as public details on the FBI and Maine State Police’s investigation remain scarce months later.
The state police described Damron as having green eyes and shoulder-length brown hair, standing 5 feet tall and weighing 130 pounds.
She was last seen wearing blue jeans, a long-sleeve blue shirt and black Harley Davidson hiking boots.
The FBI’s Child Abduction Rapid Response Team joined forces with the state police to lead the investigation on Sept. 27. The FBI is hoping that the reward will entice someone to come forward with potential leads, Milka said.
“Any detail, no matter how small, can be helpful,” Milka said.
Milka and state police investigators declined to release further details on their investigation Tuesday.
Though both agencies have pursued leads from Maine, Canada and across the United States, no evidence has surfaced as to where Damron might be or if she is with somebody, said Maine State Police Major Scott Gosselin.
The Maine Game Warden Service searched the woods near the Damron family’s home but did not find credible signs of Damron there or any indication of where she might have gone, Gosselin said.
“Everything is still on the table at this point,” Gosselin said.
While speaking on a recent podcast, Damron’s father Christopher Damron made reference to a cell phone that his daughter may have used to communicate with people before her disappearance. That made the family fear that she may have left with somebody, he said.
Investigators believe that Damron does not currently have a cell phone and likely has limited access to social media, Gosselin said.
Investigators said that anyone with information on Damron can contact the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI (1-800-225-5324) or the Maine State Police Houlton barracks at 1-800-824-2261.
