It has been weeks of silence and empty hallways for the family of 17-year-old Skylar Leann Medlin. The South Carolina teenager vanished on November 26, and since that Tuesday, her phone has stayed dark and her social media accounts have gone quiet. What started as a typical day in Waterloo ended with a family’s world being turned upside down, leaving a community on edge and desperate for answers.
Skylar was last seen leaving the Isle of Pines Circle area, a quiet pocket of Laurens County. While she was officially categorized by law enforcement as a runaway, those closest to her say that label doesn’t tell the whole story. They worry about the dangers facing a young girl out on her own during the cold winter months. The fear isn’t just that she left, but that she might have encountered someone who won’t let her come home.
There is a very real danger when it comes to “runaway” cases that the public might look the other way, thinking it’s just teenage rebellion. However, experts and advocates warn that vulnerable young people are prime targets for manipulation. Whether Skylar left on her own or was lured away, the reality remains the same: she is a child who is missing, and every hour she is gone increases the risk to her safety.
In a push to break the silence, a $1,000 reward is now being offered for any information that leads to Skylar’s safe return. Her family is hoping that this money might encourage someone with a heavy conscience to finally speak up. They are pleading with the public to look past the legal definitions and see Skylar for what she is—a daughter, a friend, and a sister who is missed more than words can describe.
The search has spread across South Carolina, with digital flyers being shared thousands of times. Locals in Waterloo and the surrounding Isle of Pines area have been asked to check their doorbell cameras and keep an eye out for anything unusual from the night she disappeared. Even the smallest detail, like a car she might have stepped into or a person she was seen talking to, could be the break investigators need.
The Laurens County Sheriff’s Office continues to follow leads, but the trail has been difficult to track. Friends of the teenager have been interviewed, and her digital footprint is being analyzed to see if she had been planning to leave or if she was meeting someone new. For now, the community is being asked to stay vigilant and keep Skylar’s face in the front of their minds.
If you have any information, no matter how insignificant it might seem, please reach out. You can contact Laurens County Dispatch at 864-984-2523. Your call could be the one that brings Skylar back to the people who love her and ends this nightmare for a local family.
