It’s been one week since 19-year-old Aniah Haley Blanchard, a student at Southern Union State Community College, was last seen.
On Wednesday, Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey authorized a $5,000 reward for information connected to the disappearance of the teen.
According to ABC News, authorities, who originally said that there is no evidence of foul play, is now treating Blanchard’s case as a criminal investigation.
“This is a criminal investigation. Obviously, we’re approaching it as such. I think the only right way to do it is to approach it as if foul play is involved and as if there is someone or more than one person involved in this,” Lee County District Attorney Brandon Hughes said on Wednesday. “We do not believe Amiah would or did essentially go missing on her own volition.”
Blanchard was reported missing on Oct. 24, after having last communicated with a friend on Oct. 23, just before midnight.
Police released surveillance footage earlier this week, which showed the teen at a convenience store in downtown Auburn on Oct. 23.
However, her vehicle, a black 2017 Honda CRV was discovered days later, near an apartment complex in Montgomery. The vehicle was damaged on the left tire area, which authorities believe occurred between the time she was last seen and when the SUV was recovered.
With the governor’s proclamation authorizing a reward, anyone who provides information that leads to an arrest and conviction of a suspect in the case will be eligible to receive the money.
“I encourage anyone with information about the whereabouts of 19-year-old Aniah Blanchard, who was last seen Oct. 23, to please call *HP or 9-1-1,” the governor tweeted out on Wednesday. “We continue to pray for Aniah & her family as law enforcement officials work to bring her home.”