‘I just need to know if she’s safe’: Parents of missing teen continue to search for answers

Published: Sep. 18, 2022 at 8:11 PM EDT|Updated: Sep. 19, 2022 at 4:15 AM EDT
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BERKELEY COUNTY, S.C. (WCSC) - The family of a missing 15-year-old girl who was last seen on her first day of school desperately wants answers.

Sarah Pipkin’s parents, Darling and Rick Campbell, contacted the police an hour after she did not get off the bus from school on Aug. 15.

When Darling contacted Cane Bay High School, the principal told her that Pipkin had gotten on the bus. The next day, a video pulled from the school showed her standing at the bus loop before walking towards Marshall Acres Drive with a group of students.

Pipkin did not bring her wallet or phone with her the day she went missing, according to her parents. They both say it was just a normal morning getting ready for school.

“We’re thinking it’s not necessarily a runaway and that someone has picked her up,” Darling says. “We don’t know what to think because we just don’t know. We just want her home so she can either get the help she needs and continue with her life. You know, that’s all we want.”

Pipkin was last seen at Cane Bay High School wearing faded black jeans, a black Bob Ross T-shirt and white Air Force 1′s. She also had a gray backpack with flowers on it.

“How is she eating?” Darling asked. “You know, how is she staying out of the weather? What is she doing, or what is she having to do? My mind goes like to the left because of everything that’s going on you know. I’m like, this is my baby girl.”

CrimeStoppers of the Lowcountry is offering a $1,000 reward, plus up to an additional $1,000 for information leading to the location of Pipkin.

“If I was going to run away, I would make sure that I had extra clothes, socks, shoes whatever,” Rick said. “She took not even deodorant, not even money, she didn’t take it, she didn’t take anything.”

When asked about the search, the Berkeley County Sheriff’s Office said they do not have any updates to provide on the case. Those with information are asked to call CrimeStoppers of the Lowcountry at 843-554-1111.

“I need to know I need to know if she’s safe,” Darling says. “I need to know if someone’s harmed her if someone has and I want them prosecuted to the fullest. You know, I mean, in all reality, she is 15. She’s not old enough to make decisions for herself.”