GRAVEL HILL TEEN HAS BEEN MISSING SINCE MONDAY

Authorities are searching for Melissa "Missy" Long, 16, of Gravel Hill in Cape Girardeau County.

She is considered a runaway. She disappeared between 1 a.m. and 3 a.m. Monday. She was last seen leaving in a white van with some older friends.

She is the daughter of Ronnie Long and Marie Brotherton.

The family has filed a missing persons report with the Cape Girardeau County Sheriff's Department at Jackson.

Long is a junior at Jackson High School. She is described as 5 feet 4 1/2 inches tall and weighing 115 pounds. She has light brownish-blond hair and blue eyes.

Brotherton said her daughter had never run away before. She said the search has been centered in Missouri so far.

Anyone with information about Long's whereabouts is asked to call the Cape County Sheriff's department at 243-3551 or their local authorities.