A 10-year-old Missouri girl is asking for the public's help in locating her mother, who vanished six months ago during a trip to a Kansas City gas station.
"It's been tough because my mom missed my 10th birthday, and that's double digits," Madison Doyle told Kansas City's KMBC‑TV. "And, being 10 now, I'm getting better at taking care of myself, but my mom is important. She's my favorite person."
May 18 was the last time Madison saw her mother, 41-year-old Melissa Doyle, at their Northland home.
"She was tucking me into bed," Madison told KMBC-TV. "Then, I woke up that morning and she was still there, and then I went to my bus stop and when I came back from school, she wasn't there."
According to Doyle's niece, Erika McKenzie, her aunt was running an errand when she disappeared.
"She was supposed to go take my grandpa to the [Department of Motor Vehicles] to get his license renewed," McKenzie told The Huffington Post. "Before she did that she said she was going to get some gas for her car. That was around 11 a.m. and she never returned."
Eight days later, Doyle's vehicle was found abandoned at Anita B. Gorman Park, a 45 acre recreation area on Vivion Road in Kansas City. According to McKenzie, the park is located about a mile from her aunt's home.
"The police conducted several searches of the park," she said. "They brought a helicopter out and conducted ground searches with K9's. They were very thorough and never found anything."
Authorities have yet to say whether they suspect foul play. A spokesperson for the Kansas City Police Department did not immediately return a call for comment from HuffPost on Tuesday.
Melissa Doyle Missing
McKenzie said her aunt had been having a difficult time in the months leading up to her disappearance and was in the process of divorcing her husband of nearly 20 years.
"She had a lot going on, but I just don't think she would have left Madison without any answers," McKenzie said. "Plus, she left her money in the safe at my grandma's house. If she was just going to up and leave why wouldn't she take that money with her? I think something really bad has happened."
Doyle did not take her purse when she left home, but did have her keys, wallet and cell phone. The cell phone, according to her niece, last pinged a cell tower near Anita B. Gorman Park on the day of her disappearance.
"That's pretty much all we know," McKenzie said. "The problem is that the communication with the police hasn't really been that great. It's been really hard to get information from them."
McKenzie described her aunt as a loving individual who would "give the shirt off of her back" to help others. She also said her aunt had a strong bond with her little cousin, who has been having a difficult time dealing with her mom's disappearance.
"She's having a hard time understanding what's going on," McKenzie said of Madison. "She says she just wants to be with her mommy."
Madison, who was unavailable for comment Tuesday, relayed some of those feelings in her interview with KMBC‑TV.
"I mostly think about when she's going to come back, what she would be doing at this time," Madison said. "Lots of people do forget, and I personally, I have forgotten how she sounds. I can't remember that ... I hope that someday she'll be sitting right here next to me again."
Melissa Doyle is described as being 5 feet 5 inches tall and 135 pounds, with blonde hair and green eyes. She was last seen wearing a pink American Eagle zip-up sweatshirt. Anyone with information about Doyle's disappearance is asked to call Kansas City police at 816-234-5111. For more information, visit Help Find Melissa Doyle on Facebook.
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