Apopka teenager reported missing during vacation in Washington

APOPKA, Fla. — An Apopka middle school student has vanished while on vacation with her family in Washington.

A statewide search is on to find 14-year-old Katelynn Barlow, a student at Piedmont Lakes Middle School.

The teenager’s mother lives in Merritt Island and wasn't with Katelynn when she disappeared.

Katelynn was with her aunt and uncle, who have primary custody of her, when she disappeared Sunday at about 9 p.m.

The family was on their annual trip to Big Lake Washington when Katelynn walked out of the and into 50-degree weather to use the bathroom. She was wearing pajamas and no shoes.

That was the last anyone saw her.

“We're just absolutely desperate to find her,” said Katelynn’s mother, Jessica Barlow.

The emotional weight of the last 48 hours was clear on Barlow's face.

“She was super excited. She was finally old enough to go do this family trip,” Barlow said.

Barlow said it was unlike her daughter to wander off.

“That's what scares us the most. There's no inclination that she would have done this on her own,” she said.

The teenager’s cellphone was found tossed on the side of an interstate 30 miles away from where she had staying with her family. “She never leaves without her phone. She's with it 24/7,” said Katelynn’s stepfather, Kevin O’Connor.

The mother and stepfather think it may be possible that Katelynn met someone on social media.

But, they said, she knew no one in the state, so the worst thoughts are now running through their heads.

“At this point, we have no doubt that someone has taken her and we just want her home as quickly as possible,” Barlow said.

Cox Media Group