Family, friends mark Yasmin Acree's 20th birthday

October 25, 2012 (CHICAGO) (WLS) -- Family and friends of a missing West Side girl gathered for a prayer service in her honor Thursday, which would have been her 20th birthday.

Yasmin Acree disappeared from her West Side home in January of 2008. She was last seen doing laundry in the basement of her home in the Austin neighborhood.

Police initially thought Yasmin had run away but later acknowleged detectives had mishandled the investigation. Yasmin's mother, however, says she holds no ill will toward police.

"It's hard because it's going on five years," said Rose Mae Starnes, mother. "I would still like to know what's going on with her. Because that's the hardest part, not knowing if she's dead or alive."

There were very few clues in the case other than a broken lock on a back gate in the family's home. But the family continues to hold out hope.

"I'm just at my wit's end. I want answers, I want closure," said Ira Acree, cousin and pastor at St. John's Bible Church. "To think a person has disappeared into thin air and then no leads, it's very frustrating."

Acree's family has increased the reward for information on her whereabouts to $10,000.

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local, eric horng

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