Update: Friends to search again for Megan Maxwell; reward offered

Emily Stroud
5/1/2009

Family and friends plan to search again Tuesday for a missing Newport teen, last seen at her father's house.

Megan Maxwell went missing on Sunday, April 26, after checking in on her father early that morning.

The only sign of her since then was her car found burned on the side of the road.

Community members in Cocke County were out in force Friday, searching for any sign of Maxwell's whereabouts.

They plan to search again Tuesday. Volunteers will meet in the Food City west parking lot in Newport, which is the same location where they met for Friday's search.

Friday, they fanned out to search for clues but found nothing.

Thursday, Gov. Phil Bredesen authorized a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest or conviction of any person responsible for Maxwell's disappearance.

The first community search

Multiple law enforcement agencies have been searching for a Newport woman who was last seen last Sunday.

Now the Cocke County community has joined the search for 19-year-old Megan Maxwell.

Dozens of volunteers gathered Friday morning in a grocery store parking lot. They split into groups, grabbed maps, and went to designated areas between the spot where Megan was last seen Sunday morning in Newport and the area in Cocke County where a police officer saw her burning car an hour and a half later.

The father of Megan's best friend coordinated the effort. "It's been a really tough last few days for people close to Megan. We hope to find her," Randy Lane said.

Newport Police Chief Maurice Shults appreciates the extra eyes looking for clues. "Our prayer is that we find Megan, we get to hug her, and send her home," he said. "We want to be able to bring some closure to this family. We want to be able to solve this missing persons incident and if there's evidence of foul play, we want that found."

Cocke County High School let kids out of class Friday to join the search effort. Friends of the family and strangers also helped.

"I've got daughters of my own, and I would hope somebody would come to fine mine if one of mine we're missing," searcher Randy Hurley said.

Volunteers searched in two shifts, from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. and from 3:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. Friday.

They did not find anything.

Thursday, Governor Bredesen authorized a $10,000 reward for tips in the case.