Molicia Julia Tumaline, at age 10.

Photo by Jeanna Duerscherl | The Roanoke Times

Lucart Tumaline said he last saw his daughter when she was watching television in their apartment living room Monday. He said his family waited until 10:30 p.m. to report her missing because she was allowed out until 8. They first checked several of her usual spots.

Once it became clear Monday night that she was missing, a little more than 20 police personnel were looking for 10-year-old Molicia Tumaline.

By 5 p.m. Tuesday, with Molicia still not located, the search team had grown to 50, not counting the many friends and family members who also were trying to find her.

Roanoke police installed their mobile command unit in the parking lot of the VFW Post on Grandview Avenue Northwest, which is adjacent to Molicia's home at Park Towne Apartments in the 2500 block of Marr Street.

They combed the girl's neighborhood from Interstate 581 to Williamson Road and from Hershberger Road to Oakland Boulevard.

Detectives, officers and police academy recruits knocked on neighborhood doors and canvassed the area. Search dogs and mounted patrols also were used, but as darkness fell on the neighborhood Tuesday evening, the girl's whereabouts remained unknown.

"We haven't heard anything yet," said Molicia's father, Lucart Tumaline. "We should've, but we haven't."

Molicia, a fifth-grader at Huff Lane Elementary School, disappeared between 6 and 6:30 p.m. Monday after she left her family's home, according to family members. She is described as 5 feet 2 inches tall and about 140 pounds. She was wearing a light green shirt, jeans and black shoes, and had her brown hair pulled back with two pins.

Roanoke police said Tuesday it remained unclear if Molicia ran away or was abducted.

Roanoke police spokeswoman Aisha Johnson said Virginia State Police make the determination to issue an Amber Alert, but she said she did not believe the circumstances had met the criteria for such an alert.

The criteria required include whether police believe a child is in imminent danger, and whether an investigation has verified that an abduction has taken place or ruled out other explanations.

Police have received multiple tips during their investigation according to Johnson, including a report that Molicia had been seen with a 14-year-old boy who is her friend.

"All possibilities are open," she said. "We're looking into everything."

Lucart Tumaline and his girlfriend, Edwidge Saint Jean, said they last saw the girl when she was watching television in their apartment living room.

In a statement early Tuesday, Roanoke police had said Molicia had been seen going to a park. Later in the day, Johnson clarified the statement, saying police had been told that the family suspected Molicia had gone to the playground because that's where she usually went outside of the apartment.

Tumaline said the family waited until about 10:30 p.m. to report the girl missing because she was usually allowed outside until 8 p.m. and because they did not find her at the playground behind the apartment building or with neighbors.

"She doesn't usually do that," Saint Jean said. "She always asks me before she goes outside."

Family members said the girl is very tall for her age, and that she behaves in a manner more mature than average.

"She's 10, but she is very mature and she acts like she's 15," Tumaline said.

Charlene Jenkins, Molicia's aunt, said she spent the weekend with her niece.

"We hung out, went shopping, went to church," Jenkins said. On Sunday, they visited Molicia's mother, Verniesa Jenkins.

Saint Jean said Monday was a typical day for the family, and for the girl. Molicia took the bus to school at 6:55 a.m. and when she got home she ate supper and took a shower. Saint Jean said Molicia sprayed herself with a cherry blossom fragrance and then changed back into the clothes she'd worn to school that day -- the green shirt, blue jeans and black shoes.

Between 6 and 6:30 p.m. Monday, her father saw her watching television in the living room. He said he has not seen her since.

jorge.valencia@roanoke.com 981-3340

neil.harvey@roanoke.com 981-3349