Editor's note: The body found on Friday, Sept. 29 in Charlotte, North Carolina, was identified as that of Ashanti Billie. Go here for the story on Saturday, Sept. 30.
------------
More than 75 volunteers combed two Norfolk, Virginia, neighborhoods Thursday, looking for any clues that would lead them to Ashanti Billie, the Prince George's County native who vanished nearly two weeks ago.
After a two-hour search, they returned with a pink shoe and a sweatshirt, The Virginia Pilot reports.
Billie was last seen about 5 a.m. on Sept. 18 entering Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek in Norfolk, Virginia, where she is an assistant manager at a Blimpie sandwich shop. But police say she never arrived at work.
Her cellphone was found later that day in a dumpster nearly 3 miles away from the base. Neighbors spotted her car Sept. 23 on a dead-end road in the Ocean View section of the city. They told police the car had been there for several days.
On Thursday, a volunteer found a pink shoe near where Billie's car was found, The Virginia Pilot reports. According to the newspaper, a sweatshirt and phone charger also were found during the search.
Local
Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia local news, events and information
It's not immediately clear if those items are related to her disappearance.
On the same day as the search, the FBI released a more recent photo of Billie -- a driver's license photo that recently was taken. In the photo, Billie has dreadlocks that are dyed multiple colors at the ends.
The agency took over the search for Billie on Monday, and offered a $10,000 reward for information that leads to her whereabouts. Two days later, Blimpie, Billie's employer, matched the offer, bringing the total reward amount to $20,000.
“We are very concerned about the disappearance of Ashanti Billie and we are working with the authorities to help find her and bring her home safely,” said Jeff Wallace, vice president of operations for Blimpie. “We are here to help support Ashanti’s family during this difficult time.”
Billie's parents, Brandy and Meltony Billie, say they remain hopeful that she will be found.
"Just help me bring my baby, Ashanti, home, please," the missing woman's mother said through tears in a video posted to Facebook.
Brandy and Meltony Billie live in Maryland and are both veterans.
Ashanti Billie moved to Virginia Beach in August to attend culinary arts classes at the Art Institute of Virginia Beach. She graduated from Henry Wise High School in Upper Marlboro, Maryland, in 2016.
Billie is about 4 feet 10 inches tall and weighs about 135 pounds, an FBI spokesperson said. She has brown eyes and recently dyed her hair red.
Anyone with information is asked to contact the FBI Norfolk Field Office at 757-455-0100.
