Niagara Falls, NY - A Niagara Falls woman now has the help of a national organization in her quest to find her 15 year old daughter who may be with an older man.
Helena Ubiles says "I'm just seeking and praying with my fingers crossed. I just want her found." That plea as she seeks help in tracking her daughter, 15 year old Dalene McIlwain, who she last saw last September 6th of last year when she never returned home from school. Niagara Falls Police say the girl is a frequent runaway and her mother confirms they had a disagreement just before she took off. Ubiles says "She was 14 when she left here. Dalene left because she wasn't allowed to have Facebook. You know and that's what really broke up our relationship...the Facebook situation. So she started running. Once the weather got warmer, she took off on me."
Ubiles and Niagara Falls Police are convinced the child went from Niagara Falls to Buffalo and is now in Baltimore with a 24 year old man she considers to be her boyfriend. So far police there have not responded. That's why Ubiles asked the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children for help. Martha O'Rourke of NCMEC says "Even if she's not still in the Buffalo-Niagara area, maybe someone who may have had correspondence with her, and I think by letting more people know that she's missing, if that correspondence comes back, it may give a better idea of where she actually is."
Ubilies adds "I want her rescued. I want her to go into a home. She could never come here and try to live. I have sleepless nights now. I don't want to have them when she comes back...knowing she's gonna run again."
Ubiles says her daughter needs to be in a group home setting with counselors. She is technically in the PINS program - that's person in need of supervision.
