Loftis Family Seeking Volunteers in Search for Wayland Teen

Alexandra "Allie" Loftis disappeared from her Wayland home on Nov. 4, when police believe she caught a train into Boston and then a bus to New York City.

Wayland and New York authorities continue to search for the Wayland Middle School eighth grader, as do countless family members and friends organized primarily through social media efforts such as the "Find Allie Loftis" page on Facebook and through Twitter.

Now her parents, Tony and Christina Loftis, are asking for volunteers to spend two Saturdays in the next six in New York City standing on street corners, talking with passersby and handing out fliers.

Allie has been able to remain hidden in New York City for nearly two weeks, which leads police to believe she has help to remain underground and that she was probably lured to the city, likely by someone she met in an Internet chat room or elsewhere online.

"The media coverage that we have received so far has led to [a] tremendous amount of leads but we still haven't found Allie," Tony and Christina Loftis wrote in an email sent to friends and family requesting volunteers. "We think the only way to put pressure on the person holding her, and to keep the leads coming, is to sustain media coverage."

The Loftis family is asking for volunteers to give two Saturdays out of the next six, from noon until 4 p.m., in New York City. Volunteers will receive T-shirts as well as the fliers to hand out. The goal is to have 100 people each Saturday standing on street corners in matching T-shirts and with fliers in an effort to "create a media event for the next six Saturdays to help bring Allie home for the holidays."

"Because many of you will want to help immediately, you will want to take the first weekend," the call for volunteers reads. "But what we truly need is support for the long-term. Weekend six may be just as important as weekend number one."

Volunteers are asked to e-mail findallieloftis@gmail.com with their availability. The Loftis family is also seeking recommendations of locations where volunteers should set up in the city.

Loftis was last seen on surveillance footage exiting a Peter Pan bus at the New York Port Authority in Manhattan around 11 p.m. on Nov. 4. Police believe she may have traveled to Brooklyn, but the search is also focused on Manhattan.

"We thank you for your support in what has been the most difficult period of our entire lives," the Loftis family email reads. "We hate to reach out to you for your continued assistance, but this is our only daughter and we desperately want her home."

Tony Loftis did an interview with CBS New York earlier this week. That interview can be found here.