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Family of missing Portsmouth teen worried she was lured by someone online

Posted at 3:04 PM, Apr 26, 2018
and last updated 2018-04-26 15:05:40-04

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. - Erin Finley-Orick has barely slept or eaten in the last two weeks since her adopted daughter, Selena Salazar, disappeared from their Portsmouth home in the middle of the night.

She's says she doesn't know what's happened, but she is worried the child was possibly communicating with a man online.

“It appears now that she was lured out - that someone had been basically courting her for quite a while until she trusted him enough to leave,” said Finley-Orick.

Members of the Warwick Memorial United Methodist Church in Newport News gathered for a prayer vigil for the missing teen on the night of April 16.

Portsmouth Police have called this a runaway case and said they do not believe there's anything suspicious with Selena’s disappearance.

“It's very stressful and worrying that that even happens at all,” said Finley-Orick. “And not to have any answers from us - two weeks now since we've had any sign from Selena.”

Members of Warwick Memorial Methodist Church handed out flyers in Selena's old neighborhood in the Warwick mobile home community - a spot where her mom says there were possible sightings of her.

Finley-Orick says she was unaware of all of Selena’s social media accounts, saying the teen had about five different Facebook pages.

The idea that an adult could be harming Selena has her church family extremely concerned.

Portsmouth Police told News 3 that the investigation into Selena’s disappearance is ongoing.

The teen lives in Portsmouth, but she has connections in Virginia Beach and Newport News. Her first language is Spanish, and she is an active member of the church.

Officials said Selena was last seen in the 10 block of Treemont Court between 10 p.m. on Saturday, April 14 and 6 a.m. on Sunday, April 15.

She is described as a white female who is approximately 5' tall and weighs 148 pounds. She has dark brown hair and brown eyes and was last seen wearing a pair of black and white Adidas sneakers and was carrying a black and white plaid bookbag.

Anyone with information about her whereabouts is asked to contact the Portsmouth Police Department.

Anyone who is aware of Selena's whereabouts is asked to contact Portsmouth Police at (757) 393-5300 or call the Crime Line at 1-888-LOCK-U-UP (1-888-562-5887).

Related:

Newport News church holds prayer vigil for 13-year-old runaway