Earlier, the schoolgirl’s 29-year-old stepfather David Niles, wearing a Find Tia campaign T-shirt, begged: "Just find my little girl."
Police searched a local wood, Birchwood, less than a mile from Tia's grandmother's house in The Lindens and around 100 local people gathered at the rugby club to spend the evening searching for Tia.
Club secretary Sue Randall said: "Everybody wants to help. We're just pulling together to try and find her."
Police are becoming increasingly concerned about the welfare of Tia
Outside the house a solitary candle burned in a glass holder with a plastic bottle covering it.
Tia vanished after telling relatives she was going to the Whitgift Centre in Croydon town centre.
Police have been scouring hours of CCTV footage but said they had not found any trace of the schoolgirl, who has never gone missing before.
The disappearance of Tia Sharp
A Press Conference Is Held Into The Disappearnce Of 12 Year Old Tia Sharp(01 of07)
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LONDON, ENGLAND - AUGUST 06: David Sharp (C), the uncle of missing schoolgirl Tia Sharp, attends a press conference in New Scotland yard to appeal for her safe return with his friends Mark Havers (L) and Steven Subine (R) on August 6, 2012 in London, England. Tia Sharp, aged 12, has been missing since leaving her grandmother's house in New Addington on Friday afternoon and was last sighted heading to the Whitgift shopping centre in Croydon. (Photo by Oli Scarff/Getty Images) (credit:Getty)
A Press Conference Is Held Into The Disappearnce Of 12 Year Old Tia Sharp(02 of07)
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LONDON, ENGLAND - AUGUST 06: David Sharp (C), the uncle of missing schoolgirl Tia Sharp, attends a press conference in New Scotland yard to appeal for her safe return on August 6, 2012 in London, England. Tia Sharp, aged 12, has been missing since leaving her grandmother's house in New Addington on Friday afternoon and was last sighted heading to the Whitgift shopping centre in Croydon. (Photo by Oli Scarff/Getty Images) (credit:Getty)
A Press Conference Is Held Into The Disappearnce Of 12 Year Old Tia Sharp(03 of07)
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LONDON, ENGLAND - AUGUST 06: Detective Chief Inspector Nick Scola holds up a CCTV image of missing schoolgirl Tia Sharp in a press conference in New Scotland Yard where David Sharp, Tia Sharp's uncle, appealed for her safe return on August 6, 2012 in London, England. Tia Sharp, aged 12, has been missing since leaving her grandmother's house in New Addington on Friday afternoon and was last sighted heading to the Whitgift shopping centre in Croydon. (Photo by Oli Scarff/Getty Images) (credit:Getty)
A Press Conference Is Held Into The Disappearnce Of 12 Year Old Tia Sharp(04 of07)
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LONDON, ENGLAND - AUGUST 06: David Sharp (R), the uncle of missing schoolgirl Tia Sharp, and Detective Chief Inspector Nick Scola attend a press conference in New Scotland yard to appeal for her safe return on August 6, 2012 in London, England. Tia Sharp, aged 12, has been missing since leaving her grandmother's house in New Addington on Friday afternoon and was last sighted heading to the Whitgift shopping centre in Croydon. (Photo by Oli Scarff/Getty Images) (credit:Getty)
A Press Conference Is Held Into The Disappearnce Of 12 Year Old Tia Sharp(05 of07)
Open Image Modal
LONDON, ENGLAND - AUGUST 06: David Sharp (R), the uncle of missing schoolgirl Tia Sharp, attends a press conference in New Scotland yard to appeal for her safe return on August 6, 2012 in London, England. Tia Sharp, aged 12, has been missing since leaving her grandmother's house in New Addington on Friday afternoon and was last sighted heading to the Whitgift shopping centre in Croydon. (Photo by Oli Scarff/Getty Images) (credit:Getty)
A Press Conference Is Held Into The Disappearnce Of 12 Year Old Tia Sharp(06 of07)
Open Image Modal
LONDON, ENGLAND - AUGUST 06: David Sharp, the uncle of missing schoolgirl Tia Sharp, attends a press conference in New Scotland yard to appeal for her safe return on August 6, 2012 in London, England. Tia Sharp, aged 12, has been missing since leaving her grandmother's house in New Addington on Friday afternoon and was last sighted heading to the Whitgift shopping centre in Croydon. (Photo by Oli Scarff/Getty Images) (credit:Getty)
A Press Conference Is Held Into The Disappearnce Of 12 Year Old Tia Sharp(07 of07)
Open Image Modal
LONDON, ENGLAND - AUGUST 06: David Sharp (R), the uncle of missing schoolgirl Tia Sharp, attends a press conference in New Scotland yard to appeal for her safe return on August 6, 2012 in London, England. Tia Sharp, aged 12, has been missing since leaving her grandmother's house in New Addington on Friday afternoon and was last sighted heading to the Whitgift shopping centre in Croydon. (Photo by Oli Scarff/Getty Images) (credit:Getty)