Holding on to hope

A large crowd gathered Sunday for a candlelight vigil at the boat launch where 17-year-old Autumn Sanville of Weathersfield went missing Oct. 6.

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2016-10-24 / Front Page Holding on to hope «» View full-size Taylor Lund, Nick Jarvis and Kristin Jarvis hold candles at Hoyt's Landing during a vigil for missing Weathersfield teenager Autumn Sanville on Sunday, Oct. 23. — CAMERON PAQUETTE http://www.eagletimes.com/sites/www.eagletimes.com/files/imagecache/full/DSC_3714.JPGhttp://www.eagletimes.com/sites/www.eagletimes.com/files/imagecache/full/DSC_3715.JPG Family, friends gather in hope of teenager's safe return By ALLAN STEIN allans@eagletimes.com SPRINGFIELD — A large crowd gathered Sunday for a candlelight vigil at the boat launch where 17-year-old Autumn Sanville of Weathersfield went missing Oct. 6. Organizer Courtney Parizo of Claremont said at least 120 people attended the gathering to raise awareness of the teen’s disappearance throughout Vermont and New Hampshire. “We really want to spread the word outside of Vermont,” said Parizo while handing out candles and blue ribbons — Autumn’s favorite color — behind a table setup with framed pictures of Sanville smiling. Visitors, who arrived from Vermont, New Hampshire, and Connecticut, quickly filled the parking lot at Hoyt’s Landing in Springfield for the 6:30 p.m. vigil. “I think it is amazing to see everybody come out in support of a missing person,” said Sanville’s dad, Chris Rogstad. “You hang onto a little shred of hope as the days go by. It gets harder and harder.” “I have a bazillion personal thoughts” about Autumn’s disappearance, he said. Sanville has been missing since Oct. 6, when she was last seen around 7:10 a.m. at the boat landing getting into a four-door, possibly late 90s-model maroon car. Sanville has long brown hair and green or hazel eyes, and stands 5-feet-4-inches tall with an approximate weight of 119 pounds. She was last seen wearing a black and white plaid shirt, black hooded jacket, jeans, and dark brown boots. She has pierced ears, and piercings on her left nostril and right eyebrow, according to a federal missing persons database. On Sunday, candles marked the parking spot where Sanville’s car was found at the boat landing. Her mother, Karlene Rogstad, burst into tears with each hug offered from a friend or perfect stranger. Eighteen days since Autumn’s disappearance, “every day has been an emotional breakdown,” Rogstad said. “You go into these highs and lows. You try to stay positive. I fear the worst. I really fear the worst,” she said. A good friend of Sanville, Toshia Emery of Weathersfield, stood quietly in a small group holding a burning candle, hoping for the best. “She told me about five weeks ago that she might head up north for a bit,” Emery said. Vermont State Police said that while Sanville made comments to friends that she was planning to run away, the investigation will remain active. Parizo said that she and Karlene Rogstad became friends on Facebook after her daughter went missing. Parizo said the candlelight vigil was her way to reach out to a heartbroken family, having two teenage daughters of her own. Rogstad maintains a Facegroup group called “Help Find Autumn Sanville,” and posts frequently that the search is still ongoing to find her daughter. In the days following her daughter’s disappearance, prayer has become a daily ritual, she said. “I pray more. It’s hard to get up every morning, but I do it for Autumn to help her come home,” Rogstad said.