GREENBELT, Md. — Friends of a Prince George’s County woman gathered for a vigil on Friday evening for the beloved school teacher who's been missing nearly a week.
A vigil was held at 6 p.m. Friday at Schrom Hills Park for French Immersion teacher Mariam Toure Sylla, who vanished Saturday after going for a walk in her Greenbelt neighborhood.
On Friday, Greenbelt Police put to rest speculation that’s been circulating in the community that an unidentified body found near the Capital Beltway in Forestville Tuesday might be Sylla.
Greenbelt Police said, "There's nothing that would make us believe that is our person."
Melinda Conrad-Brown, who’s child is a student that was being taught by Sylla, was one of the vigil's organizers.
“We’re all grateful for that but she’s still out there somewhere," Conrad-Brown said. "So we have to find her. We have to do what we have to do to make sure that not just Prince George’s County people are aware but the whole D.C., Washington, Virginia region, because she could be anywhere."
Sylla is a beloved teacher at Prince George’s County’s Dora Kennedy French Immersion School where she’s taught for 15 years.
"We're still trying to get our heads around it. It doesn't seem like it's real," said George Tehan, a parent of two students at Dora Kennedy. "She is always really good with kids," he added.
Kids are traumatized, according to parents.
According to Greenbelt Police, Sylla was reported missing Saturday evening by a friend when she did not return from a walk in her neighborhood right across Hannover Parkway from the Schrom Hills Park.
A devout Muslim, originally from Ivory Coast, she was expected to be back for evening prayer and never came home.
The park is now plastered with missing posters, and the area has been searched by authorities and volunteers with no results.
After nearly a week of investigation, Greenbelt Police are not sharing any theories they may be working on – saying simply they are considering every possibility, including foul play, even though they don’t have any evidence of that so far.
"We continue to keep this open as a missing persons investigation, and we'll do everything in our power to bring her back safely to our family or friends," Greenbelt Police Chief Richard Bowers told the crowd gathered at Schrom Hills Park Friday night.