The FBI is offering a $15,000 reward to help find a missing 14-year-old girl in Maine

The FBI is offering a reward of up to $15,000 for information in the case of a 14-year-old Maine teenager who was reported missing by her family in September, the agency said in a news release Monday.

Stefanie Damron, 14, was last seen on September 23 leaving her home and walking into the woods on West Road in New Sweden, Maine. Her family reported her missing the next day. A reward of up to $15,000 is now being offered to anyone with information leading to Stefanie’s safe return or to the arrest and prosecution of anyone involved in her disappearance, the FBI statement said.

“The FBI hopes this reward will provide an incentive for anyone with information about Stefanie’s whereabouts to come forward. “Every little detail could be helpful,” said Jodi Cohen, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Boston Division.

“Stefanie’s family desperately wants to know where she is, and we are committed to helping our law enforcement partners exhaust every investigative resource to find her and bring her home,” Cohen said.

According to authorities, Stefanie was last seen wearing blue jeans, a long-sleeved blue shirt and black Harley-Davidson hiking boots. Stefanie was homeschooled and had limited access to social media. She is described as 1.50 meters tall, weighing 65 kilograms, with green eyes and shoulder-length brown hair.

At Monday’s news conference, Maine State Police Maj. Scott Gosselin said Stefanie did not have any electronic devices with her at the time of her disappearance. He added that “this behavior was not unusual for Stefanie” – which he said was the reason her family did not immediately notify authorities.

After Stefanie was reported missing, the FBI immediately deployed its Child Abduction Rapid Deployment (CARD) team and assisted Maine State Police in the search, the agency said.

Stefanie remains missing despite authorities from the Maine Warden Service and Maine State Police conducting extensive searches, including a neighborhood search, a video search and a grid search using dogs, the FBI said. Investigators also conducted multiple interviews and followed up on leads in Maine, nationally and in Canada.

“At this point, everything is still on the table for us, from her mere disappearance, her escape, to the worst possible situation, because we have no concrete clues or tips that have led us … in one direction or the other.” said State Police Lt. Darrin Crane at the press conference.

Anyone with information about Stefanie’s whereabouts is asked to call Maine State Police at 1 (800) 924-2261 or (207) 532-5400. You can also contact the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI, your local FBI office, or submit a tip online at Tips.fbi.gov.