10:41 PM PST on Tuesday, March 23, 2004

By ELISA HAHN / KING 5 News

SEATTLE – A missing person's case is stretching across the country in a search for a young college student.

Four years ago, Leah Roberts left her home in North Carolina. Her wrecked car and belongings were found near Mount Baker.

A caravan of Leah Roberts supporters is set to show up in Seattle on Wednesday. They're trying to raise awareness to this missing person's case and bring some peace and closure to her family.

Leah Roberts was a 23-year-old woman from North Carolina with a memorable smile.

KING Leah Roberts

Four years ago this month, her crashed jeep and scattered belongings turned up off a logging road near Mount Baker.

Her family still hopes to find her.

"There's no evidence that she was in the jeep when it went off the embankment. So there's no reason to believe she's not alive," said Kara Robert, her sister.

Kara Roberts says her sister was going through a difficult time. Having lost both parents to illness, Leah made the cross-country, soul-searching trip to the Pacific Northwest.

What happened to her once she arrived is still a mystery. The only clue is a ticket stub for a Bellingham movie theatre that was found with her belongings.

"It's important out here because this is where she disappeared and I think this is where the answers lie," said Kara.

Now, a caravan of supporters is tracing her path from North Carolina to the Seattle area. It's a public-awareness campaign aiming to bring attention to Leah's disappearance and her family's struggle to cope with it.

"It's almost worse than dealing with death, because with death you can mourn and you can move on," said Kara.

The family said there have been no new leads in the case. They are offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to whereabouts of Leah Roberts.

Anyone with information on Leah Roberts' disappearance is asked to contact the Whatcom County Sheriff's Department.