Community Corner

Allegheny County Airport Searched for Missing Teenager

Alivia Kail has been missing since 2011.

By Erin Faulk

Allegheny County police on Thursday began a search for missing Brookline teenager Alivia Kail in the area of the Allegheny County Airport in West Mifflin.

During a press conference that morning, county police said they began searching three areas around the airport at 9 a.m. and expected the search to last for several more hours.

Police said there are no guarantees yet about what—if anything—will be found. The press conference was streamed live by WPXI.

"I have been waiting for this day to arrive," said Kail's mother, Christine DiDiano, during the press conference. "If Alivia is where they feel that she is, I just want to get her back."

Kail went missing in March 2011 and was believed to have been traveling from Pennsylvania to Florida with her boyfriend. However, she did not return from that trip, and authorities Thursday said there is no proof she actually made the trip. 

DiDiano said she has had a lot of hope that her daughter will be found and that she has been reflecting on her own life since her daughter's disappearance. She said she feels very blessed today.

"I don't have any kind of feelings right now that are good, bad, ugly or right," she said. "I just know that I'm blessed, and I want to keep the goal in mind and get her, find her and be able to close that door and start the big one. These next steps will be the hardest."

Police said if remains are found in the area near the airport, they would first be taken to a doctor to determine if they are human. The remains would then be taken to a lab for DNA testing.

A pathologist is on the scene of the search.

Allegheny County police provided this information Thursday morning during a press conference that was streaming live on the WPXI website.


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