The family of an Ithaca woman missing since last August is organizing a new search this weekend.

Nicole Marranca was 27 years old when she was last seen at the Meadow Court Inn on the morning of Aug. 18. Nicole's step-mother, Kelley Marranca, is inviting the public to help in the search. The search party will meet at 9 a.m. Saturday at the Ithaca Walmart parking lot.

Nicole Marranca was addicted to heroin and sometimes worked as an escort, Kelley Marranca said. Although her lifestyle differed from societal norms, she would keep in touch with her biological parents.

"She would call her dad to say 'I screwed up.' She knew, no matter what, he would not ignore her," Kelley Marranca said. "She would never not call him. She was a daddy's girl."

Nicole Marranca is described as being 5 feet, 4 inches tall, weighing 120 pounds with blonde hair, blue eyes, a small-to-medium build and a Grateful Dead tattoo on her back.

Searches for Nicole Marranca were conducted in the fall, stopped during the winter, but resumed in the spring.

"What can I find when places are covered by three feet of snow?" Kelley Marranca said.

In April, people searched in The Jungle, a wooded area behind Walmart sometimes inhabited by the homeless, some of who knew Nicole Marranca, Kelley Marranca said.

The new search locations will depend on how many people will meet Saturday morning, Kelley Marranca said.

"It's possible that she may have OD'd and someone left her or maybe she is being held against her will," she said. "Anything is possible."

However, she said she does not think Nicole Marranca took her own life.

"I don't think it's something she ever would have done," Kelley Marranca said. "She, unfortunately, really enjoyed getting high. If she ever would have contemplated it, I am sure her father and mother would have realized it when talking with her."

Anyone who has information that can help the Ithaca Police Department in its missing person investigation should call police dispatch at 607-272-3245,

police administration at 607-272-9973, the drug tip line at 607-330-0000 or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/ithacapolice.

"The Marranca case is an open investigation and IPD continues to pursue all leads," said Jamie Williamson, spokesman for the Ithaca Police Department. "Sadly, there are no significant announcements regarding the case. We renew our plea for help from the public in locating her."

"I just want to find her," Kelley Marranca said. "If we find her alive, I would like to get her home and get her the help she needs. If she has passed, I would like to bring her back and lay her to rest."

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