KINGSPORT, Tenn. (WJHL) — Two years have officially passed since Layla Santanello went missing, and the Kingsport community gathered at a candlelight vigil in her honor on Friday.

Layla’s mother, Jennifer Santanello, said it is important to remember what happened to her daughter, who went missing on June 27, 2023, when she was 20 years old. Layla was last seen near American Way in Kingsport.

“It’s a reminder that she’s still missing,” Jennifer Santanello said. “It’s a reminder that she’s still important. It’s a reminder to the local community that we are still fighting, and a huge amount of the local community is obviously still here behind us in this fight.”

Jennifer Santanello said honoring Layla on the anniversary of her disappearance is a crucial part of remaining hopeful that she will one day return home.

“It’s important to have events like this as a reminder, if you stop talking about the missing, they just disappear,” Jennifer Santanello said. “They vanish. They. No one ever remembers that they even exist.”

Layla’s mother said she is “filled with gratitude, joy and love” after seeing the crowd that attended the vigil.

News Channel 11 has covered Layla’s disappearance since the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) reported her missing in August of 2023.