Police said they had no leads in the disappearance of a 7-year-old Carbondale girl as volunteers and officers continued to search the area for her Tuesday.

The grandmother of Patrice Dotson, who has been missing since 6 p.m. Monday, said the family is offering a $5,000 reward for the girl’s return. Barbara Dotson pleaded for anyone who might have the girl to turn her over to authorities.

“Take her to the police station, the hospital, take her anywhere, just leave her there. You don’t have to give your name or nothing. Just give my grandbaby back,” Dotson said.

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Willie Dotson, Patrice’s grandfather, applauded the volunteers who are helping to search for the girl.

“I’ve never seen a bunch of people volunteer and do what they’re doing in two days. They keep coming. This is a beautiful thing,” Dotson said.

Officer Randy Mathis said police had no information on the girl’s whereabouts. He said Carbondale police contacted the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and the Illinois State Police issued a missing person alert Tuesday.

Willie Dotson said that should have been done Monday.

“We tried to get an Amber Alert yesterday but [the police] didn’t want to issue it because they claimed it’s a process, a four-part process. She wasn’t abducted, she’s missing and she has autism. I can’t understand why this wasn’t done yesterday,” Dotson said.

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The girl was last seen in the 600 block of West Cherry Street.

She is 4 feet tall, weighs about 70 pounds, and has brown eyes and braided black hair with multicolored beads. She was last seen wearing gray shorts, a white T-shirt and pink shoes.

Family members said Patrice may be non-verbal, especially with strangers.

“We continue to encourage people to share information about this. Eventually this is going to lead to someone getting the right information,” Mathis said.

Lacey Peeler of Carbondale, who said she joined the search at about 7 a.m. Tuesday, called for other community members to help look for Patrice.

“This is a child and she’s in danger. She’s not seen her mom, she’s scared and she’s terrified,” Peeler said.

Police ask that anyone with information about Patrice contact them at (618) 457-3200.

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