Stacey English Missing: Candlelight Vigil For Atlanta Woman As Police Ready Lake Search

A candlelight vigil was held in Atlanta Thursday to raise awareness about the disappearance of Stacey Nicole English, a 36-year-old woman missing since the day after Christmas.

Family, friends and community members gathered at Park Tavern in Atlanta for an event hosted by City Council President Ceasar Mitchell and radio personality Frank Ski.

"There was approximately 250 to 300 folks there," English's father, Anthony English, told The Huffington Post. He said he was grateful, but not surprised by the turnout.

"My daughter is an exceptional young lady," English said.

Robert Kirk, of St. Louis, was visiting English at her home in the exclusive Vanderbilt complex on Lenox Road in Buckhead the night of Dec. 26, according to English's stepfather, Kevin Jamison. The two got into an argument and she asked him to leave, Jamison said. She hasn't been seen since.

Kirk declined to comment and referred questions to the police.

Police plan to search Lakewood Fairgrounds Lake on Monday. The location is not far from where Stacey English's car was found abandoned on Dec. 27. Her father said police didn't tell him about the search and he had to hear about it from local media.

"I'm kept out of the loop with the police department here in Atlanta," English said.

Carlos Campos, spokesman for the Atlanta Police Department, said investigators did not receive specific information that prompted the lake search.

"The search on Monday is a precaution," Campos said.

Meanwhile, English's family has hired private investigator T.J. Ward to assist in the case. Ward, president of Investigative Consultants, once worked on the 2005 disappearance of Natalee Holloway, which remains unsolved.

"We are confident that Mr. Ward and his team will be able to uncover information that will lead to our daughter coming home. We just want to hold her and know that she is OK," said English's mother, Cindy Jamison.

STACEY ENGLISH CASE PHOTOS: (Article Continues Below)

English is 5-foot-3 and weighs approximately 120 pounds. She has brown eyes and shoulder-length brown hair with blonde highlights.

Her family asks anyone with information to contact the Atlanta Police Department at 404-614-6544. They have also started a group about her case on Facebook.

This article corrects prior articles that wrongly identified Kevin Jamison as the father of Stacey English. He is the stepfather. Stacey English is the biological daughter of Anthony English.

Also on HuffPost:

Comments

[Tena Marie Blanton]

11:55 AM on 01/16/2012

I can't imagine what the family and friends are going through. 29 years ago my husband was murdered in Detroit, they never found the killers, but this is worse. Not knowing where your loved one is or what might have happened to them. The police are probably pretty sure that the man visiting her is involved, they just need to prove it. Sometimes not an easy thing to do. Look what happened in the Casey Anthony case. My thoughts and prayers go out to the family and friends.

[brokenangel143]

02:29 AM on 01/16/2012

This is so sad... Another missing woman and now they are finally searching the river. This should have been done before now.
IMO.. Baby Lisa's body was probably dumped in the river but they never searched for her.
I hope both of them are located for the family to have some peace.

[ywcachieve]

05:52 PM on 01/15/2012

From the beginning,I said the family should hire a private investigator.

[Florha Jones]

05:05 PM on 01/15/2012

I am very happy the English family has a little extra to hire a private investigator. Ms. English, who is missing , I hate to see this type of thing happen. The police of Atlanta and many other places unfortunately, would have stayed dormant on this case had not the English family hired a PI. This lends to the fact that the poor is deemed unworthy of justice with in this criminal system. I do not believe the police would have done anything had it not been for the prompting of the hired PI. SHAMEFUL.

[ModerateAmerican77]

05:57 PM on 01/15/2012

Th article says she lives in the exclusive Vanderbilt complex in Buckhead. She is NOT poor.

[Florha Jones]

06:22 PM on 01/15/2012

Oh, no. I did not say she was poor. I said i am glad the family had extra money ( not really knowing how much ) to hire a PI. I hope I did not offend any one.

[bridgeman]

04:21 PM on 01/15/2012

We haven't forgotten Stacey!

[smokeedaclown]

11:48 AM on 01/15/2012

Very sad, I feel for this family. I doubt that this will end good but you never know

[marine1942]

11:19 AM on 01/15/2012

Check out OWS in Atlanta

[bribri64]

10:30 AM on 01/15/2012

Just find her, she is out there somewhere and someone knows where. Pressure them, don't let them get away with this. There are too many beautiful young women, mothers, daughters, sisters, missing, we only see the tip of the iceberg in the news, it is a true tragedy. I cannot fathom the anguish her family is going through. God bless them.

[Nonnie22]

06:24 AM on 01/20/2012

Your point is well made! There's no telling how many people -- men, women and children -- that are "missing". I'm not blaming law enforcement for the problem. They can't go chasing around adults who just walk out the door and keep going, but it seems like there should be SOME system that can assure these frantic families. My heart breaks for them.

[artstnmtn1]

04:50 AM on 01/15/2012

america, home of the rapist, child molesters, murderers, theives, kidnappers, women beaters and stupid women looking for love on the internet.

[callinguonit]

11:57 PM on 01/14/2012

May God watch ovber this family during this difficult time.

[thudula]

10:10 PM on 01/14/2012

ROBERT KIRK is from St Louis, MO and PHOENIX COLDRON Disappeared in St. Louis on
DECEMBER 18, 2011 under the same circumstances at 3pm her car was found motor running.
He visited STACEY ENGLISH and last saw her DECEMBER 26,2011 her car was found motor running. He returned to St. Louis.

[Rachel Hendrich]

09:28 PM on 01/14/2012

She is so pretty, I really hope that she is safe. It does not sound good for her though. It sounds like that argument may of progressed to something much worse. Maybe I am wrong, my prayers are with her family and hope they find her safe. I have not seen much coverage on this beautiful woman, she deserves the media's attention, she is missing!

[rodneylbish]

10:11 PM on 01/14/2012

The last time this story was posted I wrote that it did not look as though there would be a good outcome. I'm still hoping to be wrong. I think the police should be having more conversations with the Mr. Kirk.

[Rachel Hendrich]

10:53 AM on 01/15/2012

I totally agree, Mr. Kirk knows more than he is saying.

[naturelove1]

06:28 PM on 01/14/2012

MAny wishes of strength and support for Staceys family! The Vigil is a good thing and I see the creation of the Missing person's poster that are good things to do also. Get those flyers , posters and information out to as many places, businesses, people, locations as you can get the information across to the media as quickly and accurately as possible. Be as Proactive as possible -please visit the government NamUs site also and www.justice4billy.com site and the very helpful peace4the missing site . Getting the word out and information out as often as possible is vital. OVER 100,000 MISSING UNSOLVED cases inthe U.S.A. Alone, People way too many! Work together, reach out, help each other - if you can hand out flyers do it, if you can post flyers do it! If you can get local campgrounds, local motels/hotels, gas stations convienience stores, smoke shops, video stores, grocery stores do be supportive and help their communities get them to! Cab companoes, trucking companies dispatchers and depots, train stations all these are great public places to post information and hand out flyers..Come On America!!

[mother10]

11:53 AM on 01/14/2012

This is just so very sad...I am afraid she is dead

[mother10]

10:41 AM on 01/14/2012

May God be with you all in your search for her. I still think that x had something to do with this...