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EXCLUSIVE: Heartbroken Whitby family's candle vigil for missing Carmen
THE heartbroken Whitby family of a mum who has been missing for more than three weeks in New Zealand has made a desperate plea for her safe return.
Former Whitby Community College pupil Carmen Thomas (32) was working in Auckland and has not been seen since she vanished on 1 July.
Carmen lived in Whitby for two years after moving to the town to stay with her auntie and uncle Carolyn and Eric Lavagna and three cousins.
Her other aunties, Dianne Thornton and Carol Lavagna and their families, also live in Whitby and it was Carol who found out the terrible news after she was emailed out of the blue by a journalist in New Zealand.
She has since set up a Facebook group called Carmen Thomas which has already got almost 800 members in the hope someone can trace Carmen, whose car was discovered abandoned with her cash and belongings in it.
Her bank accounts haven't been touched since she went missing.
The devoted mother who is described as a "bubbly party girl" by her family, shared the custody of her five-year-old son Jack, with her former partner.
The last contact any of the family had with Carmen was last month when she spoke to her Whitby-born mum Theresa Scott (nee Lavagna) who now lives in South Africa to say she was unwell and in hospital.
Theresa (52) is due to make the 24-hour flight from Durban to New Zealand where she will be met at the airport by police who are carrying out an intensive search of parks and reserves to find her.
The news of Carmen's disappearance has created a media frenzy in New Zealand with the Lavagnas giving interviews with national newspapers and television stations.
Speaking to the Whitby Gazette her auntie Carolyn (55), of Elm Grove, said: "Carol got an email from the New Zealand Herald last Friday asking if we were related to Carmen but she thought it was spam.
"We looked on the newspaper's website and read the story about Carmen and rang Theresa.
"The police have apologised since, they didn't know she had any family and they didn't know how to get in touch with us.
"I want to think Carmen has had a meltdown and she has snuck off for some time alone and she will come back and say, 'hi I'm home' but underneath, deep down, I think something may have happened and it's a negative thought."
The family say they are touched by the messages of support left on the Facebook site but have also been distressed by some cruel messages left by a minority of people.
Carolyn added: "Carmen was very kind-hearted and her heart was always in the right place.
"She always bounces back to Whitby. I hope to God they find her.
"Please light a candle at 8pm tonight in the hope that Carmen will find the light to her son Jack and mum Theresa."
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Weather for Whitby
Thursday 09 February 2012
Today
Light snow
Temperature: -1 C to 1 C
Wind Speed: 15 mph
Wind direction: South
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Cloudy
Temperature: -4 C to 1 C
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