PHOTO: Volunteers came together with the Fort Payne Police Department, The Center For Search and Investigations (CFSI) and Bikers Urban Response Needed (BURN) to search for any clues in the disappearance of 16 year old Damaris Gomez. (Tyler Pruett | Southern Torch)
By Tyler Pruett, Managing Editor
FORT PAYNE, Ala. — On Saturday, October 15, members of the Fort Payne community came together with the Fort Payne Police Department, and The Center for Search and Investigations (CFSI) to search for answers in the case of Damaris Gomez.
16-year-old Gomez was last heard from on Saturday, May 21 in a text message to her mother. Reportedly, her last known whereabouts were around the Splash Pad in Fort Payne. In the months since, there has been no trace of Damaris or contact from her.
The search conducted Saturday combed an area from the Alabama Fan Club to the VFW fairgrounds for Gomez, but no trace was found. The search mainly focused around her last known location; in the area around the city park and where Gomez lived, on 7th Street Northeast in Fort Payne.
Volunteers concentrated on abandoned houses in the neighborhood, where a person could be held captive for a long period of time. While the search yielded no immediate results, a big part of the effort was to spread awareness in the community and keep the search alive.
Johnny Vaughn, who heads up the Bikers Urban Response Needed (BURN) wing of CFSI, that heads up the grid searches, pointed out that while nothing was found, the searches help raise awareness and get the information out into the community.
“A lot of people give up on them, but we never do. We search for them for as long as it takes,” said Vaughn.
Several volunteers from the area also talked to members of the community, and handed out new fliers, to remind
the public that Gomez is still missing.
If anyone has any information please contact the Fort Payne Police Department at 256-845-1414.
If you would like more information or to get involved with the Center for Search and Investigations (CFSI), visit their website at http://www.cfsimissing.com.
