Spring Valley

Spring Valley Girl, 15, Vanished in Middle of the Night 11 Days Ago

The parents of Alena “Grace” Mitchem, 15, believe she was lured out of her home by someone she met online

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It’s been 11 days since a Spring Valley teenager vanished in the middle of the night.

The parents of Alena “Grace” Mitchem, 15, believe she was lured out of her home by someone she met online. Her parents think her love of online gaming led to her disappearance.

“I’ve been saying all along my daughter has been talking to people online," Shannon Hoffman, Mitchem’s mother said. "She has online friends. That is her lifestyle. She is a very shy, timid girl. She wouldn’t just take off. She wouldn’t just run away.”

Alena "Grace" Mitchem left a note referencing that she was going to be picked up by an unidentified woman, her parents said.

Grace left her family's Spring Valley home on Sept. 22 between midnight and 5:30 a.m. Hoffman describes her daughter as a homebody and someone who wouldn't regularly spend time with friends outside of school.

The San Diego Sheriff's Department said Grace took several things with her when she left, including a cell phone, laptop and PlayStation console. She left a note saying she was running away and was being picked up by an unidentified woman, Sheriff's said.

“I fully believe someone has convinced her to take those items, someone older she befriended,” Hoffman said.

In the past month, Grace spent more time on her PlayStation than usual and didn’t want to go out to spend time with family, according to her mom.

Sharie Finn founded the RAD Movement, which helps recover missing people, after her teenage daughter went missing last year. 

“It's incredibly frustrating because, often when a child goes missing, they are presumed to be a runaway and there is this attitude, like, 'They are just a runaway, They will come back. They're probably with a friend,'" Finn told NBC 7. "Maybe ... maybe not. Our experience, more often than not, is that has not been the case.”

In the past year and a half, Finn said, the RAD Movement, which is made up of mostly volunteers, has found 19 missing people. Kids who are active online are especially vulnerable, she said.

“When they are playing these games and they are online engaging in different platforms, a lot of perpetrators play themselves off as children," Finn said. "These children are naive, emotional, immature, and can be easily manipulated.”

On Monday, sheriff's deputies told NBC 7 they were "working on" Grace’s case and couldn't provide any more information. They currently have 38 juveniles listed as "missing" in their system.

Grace, who is about 5 feet, 4 inches tall and weighs roughly 160 pounds, has faded green hair and hazel eyes. She was last seen wearing a navy blue JROTC sweater and Cookie Monster print shorts. Hoffman also said her daughter was wearing a black and white checkered floppy bucket hat, which she wore regularly and was also missing from the home.

"We love you, honey," Hoffman said. "We're not mad. We just want you home safe. We won't stop looking for you ever. We will go to hell and high water to find you."

With the passing of every day, the family grows more desperate, they said.

The sheriff's department is asking anyone who has seen Grace or has information about her whereabouts to call (858) 565-5200, or the sheriff's major crimes division at (858) 285-6354.

The family also asked that tips be referred to volunteers with the RAD Movement at (619) 904-0840. 

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