(NBC NEWS) – Friday night on “Dateline,” after 15-year-old Danielle Locklear vanishes, investigators discover a creek where local teenagers hang out that may hold the answer to her disappearance.

Here’s a preview of Dennis Murphy’s report:

So this story is about a teenaged sweetie named Danielle.  Danielle Locklear. It seems everyone in her orbit, young and old, got a boost from her sunny take on life, including her mom, Rowna. 

Rowna Fowler: She was just a funny, witty girl. She stood out. She shined. And you would — you would notice her.

Danielle’s aunt, Chena Papa, was somewhere between an older sister and a surrogate mom for Danielle.

Danielle was living with aunt Chena’s family in Hope Mills, North Carolina while her mother worked her way through a painful divorce in another state.

By spring 2014, Danielle had been living with Chena and her grandparents for close to 10 months. They saw little Dannie maturing into a young woman.

But she was still too young to spend the night alone.

So on March 11, when Chena and her mom had to go over to Atlanta for a doctor’s appointment, Danielle’s grandfather was given the responsibility of keeping an eye on the teen.

It was a Tuesday. A school night. After supper, just before bed, Danielle asked her grandfather if she could drop off a school notebook at a classmate’s house a few doors away.

He said yes. And off Danielle went into the night. In Atlanta, Chena sensed something was off.

Dennis Murphy: You had that feeling?

Chena Papa: Could not even sleep. I had this overwhelming feeling of something bad happening.

Watch Friday’s “Dateline,” “The Creek” tonight on KFOR News 4 at 8 p.m.