TAUNTON, Mass. (WJAR) — The city of Taunton, Massachusetts, held a prayer vigil Friday night in support of Mayor Shaunna O’Connell and her family as they search for her daughter, who was reported missing in Ohio.
The mayor told WSYX, WJAR’s sister station in Ohio, that her 18-year-old daughter Riley jumped over the fence of the Evoke Wellness facility in Hilliard, Ohio, around 1 a.m. on Wednesday. O’Connell said Riley likely doesn’t have the medication she needs for her mental health challenges.
Police said Riley was last seen wearing black shorts and a pink shirt. She’s described as 5 feet 5 inches tall with long blonde hair with red tips.
The mayor said Riley sometimes goes by the aliases Tiffany, Tiffany Roe, Tiffany Silva or Maggie.
Police in Hilliard said they had information indicating Riley was in the Franklinton, Ohio, area on Thursday. The mayor and her husband travelled 755 miles to Ohio to assist in the search.
“She was seen with a Black male in the last day, getting off a bus on the east side,” the mayor told WSYX Friday. “We are trying to get some footage of that.”
The vigil was held at Christ Community Church in East Taunton where family and friends praying for some good news for O’Connell’s family.
We’re doing everything we possibly can on this end being thousands of miles away,” said Jason Cross, the pastor at Christ Community Church. “I think we’re doing what we can to support.”
Cross said Riley was an active member with the youth ministry.
“Let’s pray, get the community out here and show them that they have support and do it the best way the church knows how,” Cross said.
Anyone with information on Riley’s whereabouts is asked to call the Hilliard Police Department at 614-334-2324 or 911.
