KILLEEN, Texas — More than a dozen people rallied in Killeen Friday morning in an effort to bring continued awareness to the disappearance of Fort Hood soldier PFC Vanessa Guillen.
Family and friends held signs with Guillen's picture and words of encouragement at Lyons Park.
"We feel very desperate and we are about three hours away and that's no help to us," Freida Hernandez, a friend of Guillen's, said. "This concern we have it's really hard for us to just stay there and we felt the need to come here and let people know we are concerned about our friend and we need to find her."
Investigators say the 20-year-old was last seen April 22 at 1 p.m. wearing a black T-shirt in the parking lot of her regimental engineer squadron headquarters on Fort Hood.
"I know she's going to be with us soon, I can feel it. I know if people have hope it gives me hope," Mayra Guillen, Vanessa Guillen's sister, said. "It gives me the strength to keep pushing. There have been days where I just want to vanish myself because I just can't take it."
Her car keys, room key, identification card and wallet were found in the armory room where she was working earlier in the day.
"God knows how much pain we're in. How much sleepless nights we've had. We're so desperate for answers and I feel like today or however long we're going to be here, we'll come back if we have to. So whoever did this will pay for what they have done," Tania Moreno, another friend of Guillen's, said.
The Army Criminal Investigation Division is leading the investigation and has offered a $15,000 reward for information that helps find her.
Anyone with information on Guillen's whereabouts should call Army CID at 254-495-7767 or the military police desk at 254-287-4001.
Mayra Guillen, Vanessa's sister, started a GoFundMe page and asks for donations to hire a private investigator. She said she won't stop looking for her sister until she is home safe.
