CASTLE ROCK, Colo. -- The parent of one of two 17-year-old girls is asking for help to find their daughter.
Jennifer Tibbetts wrote to Denver7 saying her daughter Alysha ran away from home in Louviers on Monday.
Alysha and another unnamed teen were last seen Tuesday in Castle Rock.
"It's been agony, I find myself just crying and not being able to breath," said Alysha's mom, Jennifer Tibbetts.
Tibbetts said the teens left their phones behind and each left a letter to their parents saying they were gay and running away together.
"They packed in a hurry, as far as we can tell they just took backpacks, they didn't take a lot of their belongings," Tibbetts said.
For the Tibbetts, who run an Evangelical Church, the revelation was a shock, but for Clayton Gonzales, who works with homeless teens at Urban Peak, the story is all too common.
"It happens more often than we like to see," Gonzales said.
Statistics from the National Coalition for the Homeless show 20 percent of LGBT kids are homeless and 58 percent have been sexually victimized.
"They're so easily involved in trafficking situations, even in the Denver area we get that often coming through our doors," Gonzales said.
The teens may be on a Greyhound bus or driving a vehicle belonging to Alysha's parents, according to a post on a missing person's Facebook page.
The vehicle is a black Honda Accord with a tag of QMJ657 with a "big dent in the back right bumper and a piece of string hanging from the trunk," the post reads.
"Even if she decides to lead a lesbian lifestyle, we will always love her and always want to have a relationship with her," Tibbetts said.
Alysha Tibbetts is described as being 5-foot-5, weighing around 122 pounds with long brown hair that's shaved on the right side. She often wears her hair in a braid.
The family is asking anyone who has information to call the Douglas County Sheriff's Office at (303) 660-7500.
---------
Sign up for Denver7 email alerts to stay informed about breaking news and daily headlines.