17-year-old vanishes on way to holiday party, Illinois cops say. ‘We need her back’

A 17-year-old girl has been missing for a week after not showing up to her work’s holiday bowling party, Illinois police say.

Brissa Romero was visiting a family member Monday, Dec. 4, in Des Plaines, according to the Carpentersville Police Department. She was then believed to be on her way to Bowlero in Vernon Hills, about 20 miles north, but she did not arrive.

Surveillance footage showed her return to her restaurant job at Raising Cane’s in Schhaumburg at 7 p.m. Monday to retrieve her iPad, but no one saw her arrive at the bowling alley, WLS reported.

Police said she was driving a gray 2008 Nissan Rogue with the Illinois license plate CZ64618. Crews have searched for Brissa and her vehicle around the area of Bowlero, where electronic devices last pinged her.

“Somebody came and took her, I don’t know what they think,” Brissa’s mother, Blanca Aguilera, told WMAQ. “I just want my daughter back.”

Brissa is 5 feet, 115 pounds and has dark hair, police said. She was wearing a green shirt and black pants when she went missing.

Police said the teen “does not have a history of running away from home.”

The family has offered a $1,000 reward for information that leads to her safe return.

“We’re not sleeping until we find her, because we need her back, and we’re going to bring her back,” Silvia Aguilera, Brissa’s aunt, told WLS.

Brissa attends Harper College in Palatine, about 30 miles northwest of Chicago, according to Lake & McHenry County Scanner.

Raising Cane’s said in a statement to the Daily Herald it has been in cooperation with local authorities in its investigation.

“Our hope is that she is safe and returns home soon,” the Raising Cane’s spokesperson said.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Carpentersville police at 847-551-3481.