Oct 28, 2003 By Angie Santello 4 min read

State police in Belle Vernon are joining friends and family members in searching for 16-year-old Ashley Roberts and her 15-year-old friend Amber Lilley who have been missing from the Republic home of Jim and Cindy Roberts since Friday. Cpl. Tim Cross of the Pennsylvania State Police in Belle Vernon said Ashley and Amber left the Park Street home in the early hours of Friday morning.

Ashley is around 5-feet-1-inch tall, weighs 120 to 125 pounds, and was last seen wearing a blue hooded jacket, blue jeans and white shoes and carrying a black purse. Ashley is described as having brown eyes and dark brown wavy long hair with burgundy highlights. She wears braces.

Amber is around 5-feet-8-inches tall, weighs about 110 pounds and has strawberry blond shoulder-length hair. She was last seen wearing a black Brownsville High School sweatshirt and blue jeans.

Amber lived with her father on Park Street in Republic, the same street where Ashley and her parents reside.

The girls have known each other for about 10 years. Both are students at Brownsville High School.

After talking to all of Ashley’s friends and acquaintances, Ashley’s mother, Cindy, said she finally reached a breakthrough Monday afternoon. A student at Brownsville High School overheard her classmates talking about seeing Ashley at the Uniontown Mall on Friday, Saturday and Sunday with Amber and a dark-haired boy driving a blue vehicle, possibly a Pontiac, with some type of ball on the antenna.

Also, at 6 p.m. Friday evening, another acquaintance spotted Ashley standing outside of the Sheetz gas station near the Uniontown Mall. Cindy said the family rushed to the gas station to review surveillance tapes, but the video was too unclear to pick out Ashley.

Cross noted the girls left the home voluntarily, and the department, including crime supervisor Stan Ferguson, has not gained information that point to something bad happening to them. Cindy said Ashley has never exhibited behavior like this before.

It was very cold the night Ashley and Amber left the home, Cindy said.

“But she took no other clothes,” Cindy added. “All she had on was a lightweight jacket. None of her heavy sweaters or other clothes are gone. I went all through her room, nothing else was missing.”

The lack of items Ashley took with her caused Cindy to think Ashley did not plan on being gone too long. Cindy said she wished Ashley goodnight around midnight early Friday morning. An hour later, around 1 a.m., Ashley’s father, Jim, awoke to go to the bathroom. He discovered the girls missing around this time.

Because the back door to the home was open and the shutter in Ashley’s bedroom was partially up, Cindy was led to believe the girls exited by the back door, but were looking for the arrival of somebody from the upstairs window prior to their exit.

Cindy said Ashley was entered into the National Center for Missing Children who are supposed to post Ashley’s information in public places.

Flyers with Ashley’s picture and phone numbers to call have been placed in public locations around Republic. Ashley’s relatives plan to stand outside Wal-Mart, Kmart and at the Uniontown Mall to hand out more flyers. In addition, Cindy has contacted Pittsburgh television news stations Channel 2, 4 and 11. Pictures of Ashley were even distributed to the truck drivers at her son-in-law’s gravel company.

“We’re doing everything possible,” said Cindy. “It seems like the longer it goes, the more it drives me crazy.”

Cindy wished to extend a message to Ashley who sometimes read the newspaper.

“Please call mommy and daddy,” Cindy said, her voice becoming choked by tears. “We love you. Please call us and come home.”

Anyone with information on the girls’ whereabouts can call state police at the Belle Vernon station at 724-929-6262 or Cindy Roberts at 724-246-9004.