Dozens of friends and neighbors prayed for the safe return of 51-year-old Lisa Stone at a vigil held in her neighborhood in East Dallas. Lisa Stone was last seen by a neigbhor on June 4.
"She goes to a neighbor's house for dinner every night and on the 5th, she didn't show up, and so that's when they kind of started worrying," said Tammy Markle, who has been friends with Stone since the age of 5.
Stone would post daily updates on Facebook -- her friends became concerned when Stone's posts stopped abruptly.
A neighbor filed a missing person's report, but when police questioned Stone's partner of 15 years, who shares a home with her, found nothing out of the ordinary and called off the investigation.
Weeks later, when a friend of Stone's began investigating on her own, she made an unnerving discovery.
"I went back to the trash dumpster and it just shocked me what I found; Lisa's birth certificate, all her pictures, her Bible, anything that was precious was in the trash dumpster and it broke my heart," said Joni Shannon, a long time friend of Stone's.
She presented the evidence to police, who opened up another investigation.
Local
The latest news from around North Texas.
Investigators secured a search warrant when Stone's partner, Sherry Henry, did not let police inside the home. Authorities later seized 26 cats from the home.
"I don't know what to think. I don't want to speculate," Merkle said, "But what I can say is, there's just too many questions."
Friends have posted signs and created a Facebook page hoping to spread the word about Stone's disappearance.
Shannon said she won't give up the search for her friend until she has answers.
"You pray for the best, but we are fearing the worst now," Shannon said. "It's been too long, so we're praying that she will be found and justice will be served."