On any other day, 13-year-old Dania Hernandez is a typical middle school teen who enjoys beauty and makeup, and loves to joke around.
“She’s a girly girl at heart,” her sister Corina Hernandez said Wednesday. “She has so much going for her.”
Dania Hernandez, 13, did not return from school on Monday and Hamilton police released this photo, at right, of Lance Jyrkinen, who was last seen with Hernandez.Courtesy Hamilton policeSince Monday evening, though, Dania has been a missing person who was last seen with an 18-year-old man from Kentucky who traveled to New Jersey to meet the teen.
And since then, Corina Hernandez, with family and friends, have been pulling near all-nighters searching for Dania.
http://liarcatchers.com/missing_persons_investigations.html
At any time, about seven to 10 friends and family are searching for Dania by car, on foot and even using bikes. They’re searching train stations, parks, wherever they suspect a missing teen might go on the run, Corina Hernandez said.
“We’re just trying to think like them,” Corina Hernandez said Wednesday by phone, while at a River Line train station in the area.
Hamilton police have been searching the area for Dania since she never went home Monday afternoon. On Wednesday they had nothing significant to report.
Members of the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office and New Jersey State Police are assisting Hamilton police.
Hamilton police late Tuesday identified 18-year-old Lance Jyrkinen as the male last seen with Dania after school on Monday. He is from Owensboro, Ky. and traveled to Hamilton to meet Dania.
The two likely met online through social media, police have said.
A recent photo of Dania Hernandez.Hamilton police Capt. James Stevens said Wednesday that detectives are unsure of the exact reason Jyrkinen came to New Jersey, and what, if any, transpired between the two on social media.
“It’s very alarming,” Stevens said. “Her family, they are very concerned about her well being, and we are too.”
Stevens said from what detectives have gathered so far, it does not appear Dania is with Jyrkinen unwillingly.
“But that’s a question that will be answered when we do locate her,” Stevens said.
Corina Hernandez and others have been posting regular updates on Facebook, pleading with people to be on the lookout for her Dania – and Jyrkinen. The posts are using the hashtag #bringdaniahome.
Corina Hernandez added that Jyrkinen might have blond hair now.
Dania is Hispanic and has brown eyes, black hair and a light complexion. She stands 5-feet, 1-inch and weighs 130 pounds.
Jyrkinen is 6-feet 1-inches tall and about 185 pounds.
Anyone with information is asked to call Detective Geoff Nielsen at 
609-689-5827 or the Hamilton police dispatch, 24 hours a day, at 609-581-4000.
