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A St Mary mother is crying herself to sleep at nights, when she manages to sleep at all, after her 16-year-old daughter Shakeila Edwards disappeared from home last Saturday.

Julian Cameron Douglas, 47, said Shakeila has left home before but never for this long - now she's fearing the worst.

"Sleepless nights mi a have because mi nuh see her or can't hear from her. None a her friend dem nun know weh she deh," she told THE STAR.

"When yuh have children and you know say a you alone a play both mother and father fi dem, it hard when things like this happen. Mi out deh a work 24, 48 hours straight just to mind dem. Mi really scared now."

Cameron Douglas, who leaves early for work and returns in the evenings last saw Shakeila Friday evening. The teen reportedly left the house early Saturday while only her stepfather and siblings were home.

"Mi husband ask her where she going, and she never answer," the mother said. "She just walk out." Shakeila was last seen wearing a blue skirt and white shirt and a pair of crocs with socks. She is a student at Wycliffe Martin High School and, according to her mother, has made it a habit to leave home on Friday evenings and return on Saturdays, never saying where she went.

"She been doing it frequently as of late. But is the first time she gone so long, and mi can't hear nothing from her at all," said Cameron Douglas. Although the teen's behaviour has been worrying, she said she would not label her daughter as a "problem child".

The concerned mother said the family filed a missing person report at the Gayle Police Station and have been walking the streets, calling friends, and even reaching out to the child's father in Portland in search of answers. So far, there's been no word.

"We tek picture off mi phone and carry it go station. Tomorrow (today) mi plan fi print some more and drop dem off in Port Maria and [Oracabessa]. Mi just hope somebody see her," said Cameron Douglas. She is pleading with her daughter to come home.

"Please, mi a beg you. In God's name, just come home and just let me feel alright. All of us are worried about you. Your friends at school. Everybody is worried about you," said the distraught mother.

"Remember next week Tuesday a your birthday and mi tell you seh mi buy present from February fi you. Please. If you really love your mother, just come home."