DAYTON " In the note that Rachel Reyes left on Friday when she ran away from home, the Dayton High School junior told her mother not to worry.
"Please don't blame yourself," the 16-year-old wrote on the paper she left on her pillow, "'cause I love you so much, and I will call."
But Rachel hasn't called.
And since last seeing her daughter, mother Dawn Ott has done nothing but blame herself, said husband Peter.
"It's destroying her," he said. "It's tearing her apart."
Underneath the tree today will be Rachel's unopened presents. While her mother goes through the motions of Christmas, she'll be wondering where her only child has gone, and how she can bring her home.
The family has sent out e-mails and reported Rachel's status to the authorities. People have reached out to the family, sending their prayers, said Peter.
When Dawn went into Kinkos this week and had 250 fliers made up to post around town, the man behind the counter filled her request, then refused to take her money.
"That almost made me cry. He said he couldn't charge her for them, and he gave them to her for free," Peter said.
Police suspect Rachel may be in Reno with a young man she knows there. But thus far, the leads have come up empty.
Now, a distraught mother is asking her community to help.
"You can see Dawn going through the spectrum of emotion, reminiscing about things that she's done with Rachel. Then blame sets in and she asks 'What could I have done differently?'" Peter said.
"We've both got a very strong faith and I told Dawn, you have to know that God's in charge, and he knows what's going on and knows where she is," he said.
Rachel Reyes is described as 5-feet-3-inches tall and weighing 115 pounds. She has long, straight, dark brown hair with bangs and hazel eyes. She has a tattoo from her right ankle onto her foot of a rosary with a cross.
If anyone has information on Rachel's whereabouts, call the Lyon County Sheriff's Department's non-emergency dispatch number at (775) 577-5023 and reference case number 08-4799.
"I want Rachel to know that I love her," said Peter. "And for her to please contact her mom and let her know she's all right."
- Contact reporter F.T. Norton at ftnorton@nevadaappeal.com or 881-1213.