The reward for the safe return of Mekayla Bali, a missing teen from Yorkton, Sask., has now been increased to $50,000, thanks to an anonymous donor.

Mekayla went missing on April 12, 2016, when she was 16 years old. She was last seen at a bus depot in Yorkton.

“It was actually a bit of disbelief,” Paula Bali, Mekayla’s mother, said of her reaction to the donation.

“This person is very committed to helping me locate my daughter.”

Paula said she was contacted by a stranger on Friday, who had concerns about how Mekayla’s case was progressing. The anonymous donor then offered to put $25,000 toward Mekayla’s safe return, bringing the total reward up to $50,000. The donor also included a $10,000 reward for information on Mekayla’s whereabouts.

Paula says the past two and a half years have been a struggle.

“The brave part of me wants to say we’re trudging through, but some days it’s difficult. I don’t know what you could ever compare this experience to. It is incredibly painful, it is incredibly worrisome, it is devastating to our family,” Paula said, adding that Mekayla’s disappearance has been extremely difficult for her siblings.

Paula calls this donation “the gift of hope.”

“It gives us the gift of hope,” she said. “Anything to encourage tips or additional information to come in. We are hoping and praying for a Christmas miracle that we can celebrate the holidays with Mekayla and just to know she’s safe and okay.”

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