Gabriel Elswick, Elkhart, right front, directs a search party for Aleeyah Cockburn, 12, Middlebury, who went missing Friday, at 53150 Ind. 13 in Middlebury Wednesday. Photo by Joseph Weiser, The Goshen News.

By Steve Wilson
The Goshen News

MIDDLEBURY — The search continued Wednesday evening for a Middlebury child who went missing late last week.

Aleeyah Cockburn

Aleeyah Cockburn, 12, was last seen Friday evening at her home in the 53000 block of Ind. 13. Her family then contacted the Elkhart County Sheriff’s Office and an investigation to locate her began.

“Throughout the weekend, additional information was provided by the family determining the need for a silver alert to be issued,” a sheriff’s office news release stated.

Shortly before 7 p.m. Wednesday investigators with both the sheriff’s office and the Middlebury Police Department were on scene at a building which serves as a fireworks stand at the intersection of SR 13 and SR 120.

Gabriel Elswick was the leader of the search parties which seached for Aleeyah. He said that Wednesday that about 20 people were searching that day, in about five different areas, and Tuesday about three different groups were out searching.

“We’ve probably done 10 searches,” he said, at the scene of the fireworks stand, which the search party had reached, at which point the police were contacted.

Patricia Goodison is Aleeyah’s biological mother.

“I just want to let her know that we are out there looking for her and that people do love her,” Goodison said Wednesday afternoon as the search was underway. “If for some reason she sees this, that (she should) come home, and if for some reason she can’t to stay strong. We’re not going to give up on her.”

Aleeyah is 4 feet 11 inches tall, 80 pounds, black hair with green eyes, last seen wearing a black beanie, multi-color gray and pink jacket, blue jeans and black boots. Anyone with information about this case is asked to call Detective Lieutenant Bob Smith at (574) 891-2352.