THE disappearance of two young women from a small Tennessee city has left some family members fearful a human trafficking ring or even a serial killer could be operating in the area and praying on the vulnerable.
Layla Santanello, 21, was last seen roaming the streets in Kingsport, Tennessee on June 27. Four months later, 19-year-old Hollynn Snapp vanished without a trace on October 18 just two miles away.
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Neither of the two young women has been heard from since, and both were believed to be in a vulnerable state at the time of their respective disappearances.
Layla was last seen walking barefoot near the Americourt motel, along American Way.
Eyewitnesses described her as disheveled and paranoid as if she was trying to "hide in the shadows."
Family members of Layla's told The U.S. Sun she was struggling with fentanyl addiction before vanishing.
READ MORE ABOUT LAYLA'S CASE
She had also suffered a recent loss in her family which had taken a significant emotional toll on her.
Hollynn, meanwhile, also suffered from addiction and mental health issues and her parents told WJHL that she operated at the mental capacity of a 9- or 10-year-old.
She was last seen on October 15 in the area of Bell Ridge Drive but hadn't spoken to her parents in several days.
Her family said it's completely unlike Hollynn to cut all communication, adding they're particularly concerned because of how "she is and how she’s a little more trusting of people."
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In the weeks since, Layla's and Hollynn's families have been in communication and their mothers believe the two disappearances may be linked.
Further investigation has discovered that the two young women ran in the same social circles, and Layla's mom Jennifer, and Hollynn's adoptive mom Heather, think there's a good chance they both knew each other personally.
Adding to their belief the cases are linked is the fact that Layla and Hollynn both have similar appearances and are roughly the same weight and height.
"The first thing I noticed about Hollynn is that she's a small person, like Layla," said Jennifer.
"They're around four-foot-ten-inches tall and 100 pounds, so very small and child-like; adult girls but in kid bodies."
Jennifer believes the similarities between the girls and the perceived links between their disappearances could mean one of a number of things.
"A lot of things pop into my head," she said. "I wonder about trafficking, but also aren't serial killers the type to pick a specific height and weight and that kind of thing?
"These are thoughts that hadn't fully occurred to me until we had another girl going missing.
"There could be a serious problem going on around here. There are a lot of theories that roll through my head over and over, every day.
"It's a scary world we live in these days [...] anything is possible."
HUNTING FOR LEADS
On November 10, Jennifer and Heather held a vigil for their two missing children in the center of town.
Jennifer said she has been moved by the outpouring of public support, but still more needs to be done to raise awareness about Layla and Hollynn's disappearances further afield.
Similarly, Hollynn's mom told the Times News: "They say it takes a village to raise a child and I believe it’s going to take the community coming together to bring Layla and Hollynn home.
"We have exhausted who we know to reach out to.”
I wonder about trafficking, but also aren't serial killers the type to pick a specific height and weight and that kind of thing?
Jennifer Santanello
One person unconvinced the disappearances are linked is Layla's stepmom, Brittany Zeitler, who told The U.S. Sun she believes the two cases are just tragic coincidences.
Zeitler has been conducting her own probe into Layla's disappearance with the help of a private investigator.
Last week, her PI uncovered new surveillance footage that shed new light on the timeline of Layla's disappearance.
It was believed the young mom-of-one was last sighted leaving an ice cream shop on North Eastman Road and heading to a nearby Five Below to buy shoes - but she never made it to the store.
However, investigators with the Tennesee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) no longer deem the sighting credible, according to Zeitler.
The new footage shows a shoeless Layla walking past a storage facility near the Americourt hotel, heading south towards the Kingsport Greenbelt some distance from the ice cream store.
Where she headed next remains a total mystery.
LAYLA'S LAST KNOWN MOVEMENTS
TBI and Zeitler's PI are now combing back through surveillance footage from the area for June in search of new leads and to establish a more accurate timeline of her disappearance.
The troubling saga began on June 24 - three days before Layla was last seen - when Jennifer received a message from Layla's boyfriend via Layla'sFacebookaccount, asking if she was "in jail" or in thehospitalbecause he didn't know where she was, messages viewed by The U.S. Sun show.
Later the same night, Layla messaged her mom from the same account, telling her "I'm fine mom [...] I been with a friend [sic]. I don't have a phone to text or call. I'm using someone els's [sic]."
"Ok. I love you," replied Jennifer, to which Layla responded, in what would prove to be her final message, "I love you so much more."
Layla and her boyfriend, according to Jennifer, had a falling out days prior and Layla had been staying with friends for a few nights before checking into the Americourt Motel, along American Way, on June 25.
But by the time she made it to the hotel, she looked disheveled and appeared paranoid as if she was "trying to hide in the shadows", witnesses have told Jennifer.
Zeitler said she has since learned more details about the nature of Layla and her boyfriend's altercation.
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Friends of Layla's have since informed her that she was secretly starting another relationship with a different man, Zeitler said.
She believes Layla's boyfriend found out about the affair and so Layla fled their home, without shoes or any of her personal belongings, and ran to one of her friend's houses.
Layla spent two nights sleeping at friends' homes - one of whom was her apparent new love interest - before going to the Americourt motel on June 25, Zeitler said, where another of her friends was staying.
On June 26, other guests at the motel reported seeing Jennifer going door to door.
Again, she appeared to be in a state of distress but declined help from numerous strangers who asked if she wanted to borrow a phone or needed a ride home.
At some stage in the late morning of the 26th, there was another altercation involving Layla and an unknown person.
Before that altercation, Layla, according to Zeitler, told her friend: "I have to take care of something."
Layla was threatened with eviction from the motel because of the commotion.
She then walked off into a nearby woods around midday.
"There's a warehouse [near the woods] and there were approximately five employees that were working that said they could see Layla sticking out from a mile away," said Zeitler.
"Based on her paranoia, her panicking and her being freaked out, it could be that she was running from whoever she spoke with at the motel."
A FAMILY'S PAIN
The last knownsighting of Laylacame the following day outside of the storage facility.
Layla's trail goes completely cold therein.
It was Zeitler and her husband, Layla's father, who would report her missing in the early hours of June 27th.
Despite the lack of leads in the case, Zeitler said she will continue clinging on to hope Layla is still out there and alive until she's told otherwise.
"All we can do is hope and pray that she is," said Zeitler.
"I've heard quite a few success stories of similar cases and that gives you a glimmer of hope, so I'm just going to continue thinking she's alive until we're told otherwise.
"Her family all hope she's out there somewhere - it's just a matter of where."
Speaking directly to her step-daughter, Zeitler added: "Come home and we can start this over, together.
"You can be given a new day, a new chance, and a new beginning.
"God only knows what you're going through right now, but there's a lot of help and a lot of love to offer you.
"And with the right therapy and support, we'll be able to overcome anything you're facing right now."
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'WE WON'T STOP'
Jennifer, meanwhile, says she routinely tries to prevent her mind from going to the darker places and exploring less favorable outcomes as she, like Brittany, clings to hope Layla will soon come home.
She described feeling as if she's living in a bubble, disconnected from the outside world as she remains consumed by the whys and what-ifs leading up to June 27.
However, she refuses to rest until the truth is found.
"My heart won't let me stop [...] Layla didn't have any quit in her, when she had a goal in mind, and she wanted something, she was going to get it.
"And when it comes to her, and fighting for her [...] I'm not going to stop either.
"I've never backed down from a fight when it came to making sure she was okay, so this isn't going to be the time I start.
"I'm going to keep going until it breaks me or until we find her."
Anyone with information that may help locate the two women is asked to contact the Kingsport Police Department at (423) 343-9780 or private investigator Steve Fischer at (877)-619-9890.
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