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Still no sign of kidnapped North Carolina teen as FBI continues search

This Sunday, Nov. 4, 2018, photo provided by FBI shows Hania Noelia Aguilar, the day before she went missing in Lumberton, N.C. Authorities say they have found the SUV stolen during the kidnapping of the 13-year-old girl at a North Carolina mobile

LUMBERTON, N.C. — The FBI and other police agencies are continuing their search to find a 13-year-old girl kidnapped from a North Carolina mobile home park.

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The FBI said Saturday that agents are conducting searches on foot and using drones as part of the search for Hania Noelia Aguilar.

Relatives say the eighth-grader went outside last week to start a relative's SUV to prepare to leave for the bus stop. Police say a man then forced her into an SUV and drove off.

Authorities said the SUV was later found in Lumberton, several miles from the mobile home park.

A total reward of $30,000 is being offered for information leading to the girl.

The FBI said it has no reason to believe Hania has been spotted in Charlotte.

On Tuesday, officials said someone in Charlotte called to report seeing a girl who looked like Aguilar. They said the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department was looking into the report, but at this point, there is no reason to believe it is accurate.

On Tuesday, the girl's mother released a handwritten statement:

"I trust in God that my daughter will return. No one knows the pain I have in my heart. Despite all the criticism and speculation against me, I would never use my daughter’s name in order to take advantage of this situation. I thank all those people who have provided me help. Please, if you know something, call. I ask everyone not to make absurd comments. For the love of God respect my pain. I only want Hania, my princess, back. I miss her."

Investigators said they airlifted evidence to FBI headquarters in Quantico, Virginia so it can be analyzed and processed quickly in hopes of locating the missing teen.

The FBI said investigators need help to identify a person seen walking near the area where Hania was abducted on Nov. 5. FBI officials said their plea grows more and more urgent by the minute.

>> Related: FBI poster released on Nov. 9

Search crews said they need to talk to anyone who lives near Rosewood Mobile Home Park and Quincey Drive and will be walking in the neighborhood to make contact with everyone.

Police Chief Michael McNeill asked Monday for people to contact police if someone they know is acting strange.

He said, "Maybe they haven't gone to work, haven't come home or they aren't answering your calls or your text messages."

The FBI released a new missing person poster for the girl. On the poster, the photos that show her wearing red were taken the day before the abduction.

Surveillance video the FBI released the day prior shows what appears to be a man wearing light-colored shoes, a light-colored shirt and a hoodie walking south on Lambert Street, then turning north on Highway 41/Elizabethtown Highway toward the Rosewood Mobile Home Park.

FBI officials said surveillance images also helped them find the green SUV that was stolen and used in the kidnapping.

According to the FBI, the SUV was located around 8 a.m. Nov. 8 off Quincey Drive in Lumberton, 10 miles from her home.

Officials said the FBI's Evidence Response Team processed the vehicle for any clues.

The teen’s mother, Elsa Hernandez, is pleading for her daughter’s safe return.

"Return my daughter. I need her,” Hernandez said. “I am suffering for her. Her sisters, too."

Investigators have been collecting and analyzing surveillance video since Aguilar was taken from her home.

An FBI release issued last week said investigators were following nearly 50 leads in the girl's disappearance.