EAST BAY, N.S. -- Donna Martin hasn’t seen her daughter in nearly a week.

The pain of not knowing where she is has been weighing on her and she is pleading for her to return.

"I feel real sad, heartbroken," Martin said.

Her daughter, 14 year-old Molly Martin, was last seen last Thursday in Eskasoni around 4 p.m.

RCMP say she is believed to be with a man who is known to her and say the pair was spotted on video surveillance at a gas station in Catalone, N.S.

The RCMP and Cape Breton Regional Police have also received reports that the pair has been spotted on an ATV in the Forchu area.

"This is Day 5 and a 14-year-old girl is missing," said cousin Lora Googoo. "She was taken as a runaway with a 47-year-old man. I don't understand why an Amber Alert wasn't issued."

RCMP say they believe the teen went willingly and was not abducted and they are investigating.

The family says friends and community members have led searches of their own in hopes of locating the teen.

Many in the community feel the RCMP is not doing enough, but the Nova Scotia RCMP say the criteria for an Amber Alert isn’t met in this case.

"For the Amber Alert, which is a provincewide program, the abducted person must be under the age of 18 or have a mental disability," said Nova Scotia RCMP spokeswoman Cpl. Lisa Croteau. "Police must believe the person is in serious bodily harm or dead, and we have to have a description of the vehicle they're traveling in as well. Those are the three criteria."

Meanwhile, in Martin’s home community of Waycobah, N.S., the chief and council are offering a $5,000 award for the teen’s safe return.

"We had to do something on our own to garner attention and make it known to the public that we have a 14-year-old child missing," said Chief Rod Googoo.

Croteau says the Mounties plan on using a Lands and Forestry helicopter to join the search on Wednesday.

Police describe Martin as Indigenous, with brown hair and brown eyes. She is five-foot-seven inches tall and weighs 100 pounds. She has a rose tattoo on her arm and may be wearing glasses.

"Molly we're not mad at you," said Lora Googoo. "Mom is not mad at you. Just come back home."

"I just want her home," said Donna Martin.

RCMP say both the families of Molly Martin, and the man they believe her to be with, are engaged in the investigation.

Police have not released any information about the man.

Anyone with information on Martin’s whereabouts is asked to contact the Eskasoni RCMP at 902-379-2822 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).