DISTRAUGHT relatives of a missing woman have come together for another vigil.
Rebecca Coriam, 24, from Guilden Sutton, Chester, went missing while on board the Disney Wonder cruise liner off the coast of Mexico on March 22.
Her cousin, Karla Lovell, 23, from Flint, said more than 100 of her closest friends and family, including parents Mike and Ann, gathered at Chester Racecourse to release yellow balloons adorned with handwritten messages to guide her home.
The search for sport-mad Rebecca, known as Bex or Becky, ended last week but her family remain hopeful that she is alive.
Karla said: “We wrote messages on the balloons saying we missed her and wanted her to come home.
“You never know – one might reach her. I think it really helped Ann and Mike to know they had the support.
“We also had T-shirts made, which said ‘We Miss Bex.’
“It was really lovely. Everybody was upset but happy at the same time. Everybody who knows her thinks she is still alive.
“We are just hoping and waiting for something to come through. We don’t want her forgotten.”
It is the second time family and friends have united for Rebecca.
Last Sunday they released Chinese lanterns from the racecourse and they will meet again this Sunday at 5pm to release more balloons
Rebecca’s uncle, John Jennings, from Chester, said: “We chose yellow balloons because that was the colour of her work uniform.
“And we chose the racecourse because every Boxing Day Rebecca and I would run the Round-The-Walls race starting from the racecourse so it holds fond memories.”
Rebecca, a former pupil at Chester Catholic High School, was working as a youth activities co-ordinator on the vessel which left Los Angeles on March 20 for a week-long cruise.
A thorough search of the ocean liner took place when it docked in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, and the US Coast Guard and Mexican Navy were deployed to search the seas.
John added: “It is every parent’s worst nightmare to have their child go missing – to not know if they are dead or alive.
“It is horrible because we can’t do anything. It’s a waiting game now.”