Amanda Mespelts, 17, of Boise, went missing on Feb. 15.

BOISE -- It’s a family's worst nightmare - a Boise teenager leaves for school and never returns home.

Federal agents are on the lookout for a 17-year-old Amanda Mespelt who has been missing since last Thursday.

They say it began with a conversation the girl had with someone on the Internet.

There are more questions than answers as to Amanda’s whereabouts.

She was last seen around noon six days ago.

NewsChannel 7 talked with Amanda’s mom who says she’s pretty sure that wherever her daughter is -- there's sure to be a stranger she met online with her.

And the family is understandably shaken. They are pleading for help locating Amanda and warning other families to be on alert as well.

A remodeling job of Amanda’s room at her mother’s Boise home is nearly complete. All that's missing now, according to Amanda’s aunt Jessica -- is Amanda

"Runaway or not, she could potentially be in danger, you know, and we don't know," said Jessica Emory.

Amanda went missing Feb. 15 after she failed to show up for her usual ride home from Borah High School.

The family says the teen apparently left the school campus early that day and they believe with someone she may have met online.

"Like we said, we know she's been online. We know there's an individual, possibly from Georgia, that is somebody they're looking at, somebody from Horseshoe Bend that we've learned about, that the police are aware of," said Emory.

The incidence of teens meeting strangers online is on the increase nationwide. Wiredsafety.org reports that one in four girls and one in seven boys say they met a stranger off the Internet. Of that, about 4,000 annual cases involve sexual predators attempting to entice children. That's four times the rate reported in 1998 when the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children began tracking the numbers.

Amanda’s case is enough to cause alarm for parents throughout the Treasure Valley.

"I’m very concerned, especially nowadays," said Sarah Demichael, parent.

Sarah Demichael has a long way to go before she has to tackle the online predator issues for her toddler son, but it's already a big concern.

“With the Internet it's super easy for kids to get caught up in that mess, and they don't know who they're talking to. So, we're going to keep a close eye on that," said Demichael.

In Amanda Mespelt’s case, this story already cuts deeper than the stats and close to home. Whether Amanda met a stranger or ran away, the family is torn, they just want the teen home.

"We’re going through hell. You know, we're not sleeping, we're...you know, we're imagining the worst, we're hoping for the best. My other sister said yesterday, you go by every ditch and alley and field and you look for her," said Emory.

Anyone with information about Amanda is urged to contact Boise Police.