JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – As investigators continued to dig through a landfill Wednesday in what sources said is a search connected to the disappearance of a pregnant teenager, a woman who knows the girl said she is becoming more concerned with each passing day.
Iyana Sawyer, 16, has been missing for 29 days with no trace as to where she could be. She was five months pregnant the last time she was spotted Dec. 19 on surveillance video leaving Terry Parker High School.
Sawyer's sister came home from school that day, but Iyana was not with her and has not been seen since.
Investigators began searching Tuesday at a landfill on Otis Road north of Baldwin for evidence in “an active case.” Sources said that case is Iyana's disappearance.
Cavatina Jones said her son, Mikaylo Edwards, has known the 16-year-old since elementary school. She said he is heartbroken and desperately wants Iyana to be found safe.
“She was really, really beautiful, real nice and very outgoing,” Jones said.
She said Edwards tried contacting Iyana a few days ago.
"He was trying to get in touch with her, no answer. He was trying to go on Snapchat, and it’s like closed down,” Jones said.
She said she prays for Iyana's family that the girl comes home safely.
A Jacksonville Sheriff's Office spokesman said investigators do not have an end time set for the landfill search, which “will continue until the investigation is satisfied with the results.”
Anyone with any information on the whereabouts of Iyana is asked to call the Sheriff's Office at 904-630-0500 or Crime Stoppers at 866-845-TIPS.