WINNIPEG -- The Manitoba Metis Federation (MMF) announced on Thursday it is adding $10,000 to the reward money to help find Jennifer Catcheway.

Jennifer went missing on June 19, 2008, when she was 18 years old.

Since she went missing, her parents Bernice and Wilfred Catcheway have offered a $10,000 reward for anyone with information that leads them to their daughter. The MMF’s contribution will double this amount of money, bringing it to $20,000.

“Bernice and Wilfred have never given up,” said MMF president David Chartrand.

“Twelve years, they’ve been searching.”

Chartrand said he knows there’s someone out there with information, but it’s been 12 years and “nothing’s come out of it yet.”

“They just want their baby home,” Chartrand said, referring to Jennifer’s family. “If that person out there is listening, imagine for a second it was your family. Imagine just for a fraction of a second that was your family going through this.

“Twelve years of pain, twelve years going to bed at night wondering if a morning is going to come where a hint will finally be there or a clue that you’re going to go 'finally,' and find your baby and bring her home.”

Over the past 12 years, the Catcheway family has searched several places across Manitoba to find Jennifer. Most recently, they looked in Duck Bay and Grand Rapids south due to tips from the public.

“Twelve years ago, that’s the beginning of our journey – a nightmare. It’s been a nightmare,” Bernice said. “Because of so many misleading tips that we’ve been given, and we have to follow every tip, everything you hear. Whether it’s something outrageous, we still have to follow those leads and those tips, which took us to different areas, different communities, three different communities.

“In those times, we’ve excavated three dumps, we excavated three dumps looking for Jennifer. And it’s so heart wrenching and it’s so hard.”

Bernice said she just wants to bring Jennifer home.

“Somebody out there knows where Jennifer is,” she said.

“Somebody last laid their eyes on her. Jennifer didn’t just disappear. Somebody took her. Somebody stole her from us.”

The family put up billboards with Jennifer’s picture and the $10,000 reward, which will now be replaced with new ones displaying the $20,000 reward. The MMF will also cover the costs of changing the billboards.