PARSONSFIELD, Maine — Darlene Townsend said she stays up at night thinking about how her granddaughter, Kiley, may have changed since the last time she saw her.
"That's the color she left with," Townsend said, pointing to a photo of Kiley with black hair.
Townsend believes her granddaughter may be bearing a lighter auburn color now, according to tips she's heard through the grapevine.
"She's known to do it. She's had orange hair, she's had bleached hair, she's had black hair," Townsend said.
Darlene and her husband, Terry, would know. They said they raised Kiley, seeing her every day since she was born. Now, they haven't seen her in nearly six weeks.
Kiley Townsend-Ireland, 14, went missing on May 23. Her family has since organized several search parties and put up posters all over the state.
"We've been plastering them anywhere from Porter all the way past Waterville," Townsend said.
Townsend pointed to one of the pictures of Kiley on Christmas Day in 2023. The photos of fond memories are helping spread awareness, with the hopes of finding the girl.
Kiley's family said has run away for the second time this year. She first ran away May 13 and was found safe May 21. She disappeared again a second time just two days later.
"We're all going crazy here, stressed out," Townsend said. "I feel lost without her. I cry almost every night, and her Papa has also been to the hospital thinking he was having a heart attack due to the stress of it all."
The family explained they were stressed from worry about her well-being and also because of their frustrations that more can't be done after Kiley was apparently spotted several times.
"I broke down in tears to this lady. I said, 'You don't know what kind of vehicle she was traveling in or who she was with?'" Townsend said, describing the moment a woman reported she had seen Kiley at Oakland Park.
Through community tips like that one, Darlene has an idea of who Kiley might be staying with. But after handing over that information to Maine State Police, which is handling the case, the sightings led back to square one.
"They basically have burned all their bridges. If we don't have proof, they can't do anything about it," Townsend said.
Kiley's grandparents say the police try to show up at homes where they believe she may be staying and question people involved. But in order to take matters further, Maine law requires her family to prove she is in danger.
Massabesic High School Resource Officer Scott Corey said this is a problem police run into frequently when handling runaways.
"It's a lot of wasted manhours sometimes for a kid that just doesn't want to be home because they want to go hang out with their friends," Corey said.
Corey added there are a lot of barriers to getting kids to come home and even when they are successful, there's not much they can do to prevent teens like Kiley from running away again.
"We go in, we try to put Band-Aids on stuff. But when it's a big bleed, you can't just fix it with a Band-Aid," Corey said.
One thing Corey said might help is if the state were to tighten truancy laws. He said more consequences for teens who skip school could prevent the temptation to run away or stay missing.
"At the end of the day, there's not a, 'They have to.' There's no, 'Or else,'" Corey said.
He also believes laws like this would have other benefits.
"Kids are less apt to go run away and try to make connections elsewhere if they have connections in their own community," Corey said.
As for Darlene, she said she'd like to see laws tightened to create consequences for parents who allow runaway teens to stay with them.
"More people should speak out about a teen coming to their house to stay without the girl's or boy's parents knowing. I think they should reach out and let us know," Townsend said.
For now, her grandparents believe the choice is up to Kiley. Belongings left behind and an empty bedroom serve as a reminder that a place is still there for her, if she wants it.
"Kiley, your family needs you," Darlene said.
"I just want you to come home safe, Kiley. We miss you and love you," Terry added.
Possible sightings of Kiley Townsend-Ireland have most often been reported in the areas of West Newfield, Waterboro, Vassalboro, and West Baldwin. State police ask that anyone with information about her whereabouts or possible sightings to contact them at 207-624-7076.