Family of missing Melanie Melanson hold vigil on her 35th birthday

WOBURN (FOX25, myfoxboston) - The family of Melanie Melanson held a candlelight vigil to commemorate what would have been her 35th birthday this Sunday, November 1.

On October 27, 1989, 14-year-old Melanson disappeared just five days before her 15th birthday after a party in the woods with a group of friends. Tomorrow marks 20 years since she was last reported seen.

On Sunday, November 1, on what would have been her 35th birthday, family and friends of Melanson will hold a candlelight vigil in her memory. Family, friends, and members of the public who wish to participate and commemorate her life are welcome.

According to authorities, on the evening of October 27, 1989, 14-year-old Melanson, a freshman at Woburn High School, was in a set of woods near the Woburn/Stoneham line at a party with a group of friends. In the early morning hours, Melanie remained with a small group of friends. That was the last time that Melanie was ever seen or heard from again. In the ensuing days and months, family members, friends, and local law enforcement conducted extensive searches to find Melanie. That search included the use of cadaver dogs, dive teams in local waters, and repeated ground searches by local police. She was never located.

The District Attorney's Office and Woburn Police are presently conducting an active investigation and following new leads that have been developed. A reward of $5000 has been offered for new information that leads to the discovery of her body. Members of the public with information that they believe would be helpful to the investigation can contact the Woburn Police Department at 781-933-1212 x853 or State Police assigned to the Middlesex District Attorney's Office at 781-897-6650.

The $5000 reward money is being offered by the Carole Sund/Carrington Memorial Reward Foundation which is committed to raising awareness to the issue of missing persons who have gone missing under suspicious circumstance.