HALIFAX COUNTY, Va. – With no solid leads on her disappearance, Emma Layne's friends and family say holding out hope that she'll eventually be found safe is tough.
So they organized a vigil to help encourage each other to stay positive and keep holding out hope.
Jeaneen Abbott is a close friend of Emma Layne.
With Layne now missing for almost two months, Abbott and Layne's sister decided a community event needed to be held.
"We said, 'Well, why can't we have a prayer vigil within the community?' So I got with my pastor and we decided to have it at our church," Abbott explained.
On Saturday, June 17 around 7 p.m., Layne left Cody Convenience Store where she worked and has not been seen or heard from since.
Abbott commends the Halifax County Sheriff's Office for continuing to investigate, but she says so far the investigators haven't come up with any leads, making Layne's disappearance all the more painful.
"The hope is in the community pulling together and keeping it out in the front," Abbott said. "That's our purpose; to keep her name going, keep her spirit going, keep her family encouraged."
Others, like John Burton, who know Layne well, say her spirit is what they remember and miss most about her.
"It's just unbelievable because she was just a real good person. She would do anything she could for anybody and it's not like her to just up and disappear," said Burton.
Burton says he is glad that a vigil is being held.
"Yes, Sir. I think it's a real good thing."
WSLS 10 reached out to the sheriff and investigators Thursday for an update on the investigation, but they did not respond.
Abbott says if Layne isn't found soon, more vigils may be held and friends and family will do whatever else they can to make people aware that she is missing.
Thursday's vigil is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. at Republican Grove United Methodist Church, located at 4226 State Rte. 647 in Republican Grove.