While a birthday celebration is taking place inside the Bope household, it is hard for Kris Bope to ignore the fact her daughter is nowhere to be found.
It has been 18 days since anyone last saw the 17-year-old girl, she says.
“It's been very difficult to sleep because my mind wanders. I wonder where she is, what's she doing,” she says. “If I'm going to see her again or who's she with.”
According to the mother, witnesses told police Sarah Bope was last seen walking on the morning of May 12 to Boys Town High School. Instead of heading to class, the junior got inside a black car with a male driver.
For Kris Bope, the best case scenario is she is hiding out with friends.
Then, there are the unwanted possibilities.
“The other theory is she got in the car with somebody that maybe she had been online with and that maybe she has actually been kidnapped,” the mother says.
The Omaha woman explains her daughter recently enrolled at Boys Town because of mental and behavioral problems.
Forgoing sleep, the mother spends her nights online – searching for clues – and asking for people to spread the word as police investigate leads.
“I know that they have a large caseload,” says Kris Bope. “They're constantly working on other cases as well. So, Sarah's just can't be a priority.”
But for the mother, it is a main priority for the Bope family until they see the missing teenager again.
