Community searches for missing 17-year-old

TUSCOLA -- A 17 year old girl from Arizona is missing in Central Illinois. Police believe she's in Douglas county.

Micheala Scott went to school in Tuscola for a few years, before moving to Arizona. Late Friday afternoon, a woman called Crime Stoppers claiming to be Scott.

She said she was okay. Police believe Scott had a fight with her parents and took off in their car.

The car was found, but the most concerning part, the keys were in the ignition and the car was running.

Police believe she's somewhere in Tuscola and the community is joining forces to find her.

"Did she just take off? Is she warm? Is she somewhere warm? It's cold outside. She's coming from Arizona. It's so much warmer there." Heather Brazzell said.

Heather Brazzell's daughter, Kelsie, is best friends with Michaela Scott. They went to school together and hung out everyday. Brazzell says when you're around Scott, laughs become contagious.

"You can guarantee you'd be laughing. She was funny, she was bubbly, outgoing."

But since Scott's gone missing she says her daughter hasn't been the same.

"She refused to go on camera because she's upset. It's really taken a toll on her."

But it's not just her. A posting on Facebook when Scott disappeared has already gotten more than 1,700 shares.

"Everybody's concerned. They want to find her and everybody wants her safe. That's just part of living in Tuscola."

Close to 100 people wrote on our Facebook. One viewer wrote, "All prayers be with you." A truck driver wrote he'll keep his eyes out for her and a grocery store owner said he'd put her picture throughout the store.

"Everybody's gonna pull together."

Crime scene investigators have been searching her car looking for blood or any sign of a struggle. But, Brazzell and the rest community are coming together spreading the word to bring this 17-year-old home safe.

"There's a lot of people out there that are trying to find her, there are a lot more people that care about her then anybody even realizes."