Mercyhurst College Student Jenni-Lyn Watson Vanishes While Home on Break

Nov. 24, 2010— -- Authorities in upstate New York are searching for a college student who went missing Friday after returning home for Thanksgiving break.

Jenni-Lyn Watson, 20, was last seen at her family's home in Liverpool, N.Y., near Syracuse, on Nov. 19.

Onondaga County Sheriff deputies, firefighters and U.S. Marshals are using information obtained from her cell phone records to search a large wooded area in the northern suburbs of Syracuse.

"This is an area that has shown up on her cell phone records," Onondaga County Undersheriff Warren Darby told ABC News Syracuse affiliate WSYR. "We wanted to make sure her phone wasn't left here and if it was, we wanted to recover it because it may have some more information."

Neighbor Stacey Kinahan told WSYR that it was unusual for Watson, a student at Mercyhurst College in Erie, Pa, to be out of touch with her family.

"It's completely unlike her. She's a ballerina, a wonderful student, keeps in touch with her family, loves her family. It's very out of character for her not to contact anybody," she said.