Family and friends of Carina Saunders gather for vigil outside Bethany Police Department

“It's heartwarming to know that Carina had a lot of friends and people that supported her. It's a very emotional time for everybody, family and friends. And the family, we would just like to say we appreciate everything everybody is doing,” Christina Vass, Saunders' aunt, said at the vigil.

“We need people to, if they know anything, to contact authorities,” Vass said.

Some, like Gabrielle McAllister, had seen Saunders recently, while others hadn't seen her since their high school classes, but came to the vigil to show their support.

“We were at my house, my apartment, and she just came over to stay the night and just stayed up talking because we haven't seen each other in a couple months or a month,” McAllister said.

“We drove around because we used to drive around out in Mustang and drive on the back roads and just talk about life and just laugh and have fun and just be free for a minute, and that's what we did. ... We just drove around and talked and came home and watched TV and did girl stuff,” she said.