Current:Home > Finance13-year-old walked away from his mom at Arizona car wash. A month later, he's still missing.-LoTradeCoin
13-year-old walked away from his mom at Arizona car wash. A month later, he's still missing.
View Date:2024-12-23 21:28:58
It has been over a month since a 13-year-old boy walked away from his mom at an Arizona car wash as local authorities continue a fervent search for the missing teen who has little familiarity with the area.
Elijah Gumbus has been missing since Aug. 31 and surveillance footage from the Weiss Guys Car Wash in Maricopa County, which USA TODAY obtained, shows the moments leading up to his disappearance. The boy, who is wearing a red shirt in the video, is seen hopping out of his mother's car and jogging west.
Elijah's mother can be heard in the footage calling out his name multiple times before the video cuts off.
“There's a lot of areas there that he could have either met with somebody or taken off or hid or something like that, but at the moment, that's the only information that we had and the only surveillance that we had in the area that was able to pick him up in a direction of travel," Tolleson police Lt. Lee Garrett told KPNX.
USA TODAY contacted Tolleson police on Wednesday but has not yet received a response.
'We're extremely concerned'
As the search continues for Elijah, Garrett said the department has a "detective that is 100% dedicated to just this case at this point," KPNX reported.
“We're extremely concerned," the lieutenant said. "We're very involved."
At the time of Elijah's disappearance, his mother was driving from California to Louisiana for her work, according to Garrett, per the Arizona-based TV station. The mother and son stopped at the car wash, and while she was cleaning the vehicle, Elijah jogged away, the lieutenant said.
Neither Elijah nor his mother have ties to Arizona, which makes this case even more problematic and worrisome, Garrett told KPNX. There have been custody issues between Elijah's father and mother, but neither live in Arizona, and police have confirmed that the child is not with either of them, the TV station reported.
“What's most concerning is his age and the fact that he doesn't have ties to Arizona or any family here. We don't know how he would have connected with somebody here, or if he just simply ran away,” according to Garrett. “He's not a very big kid, so he's somebody that would stand out. He's got a very young face. So we're hoping that somebody will see this and realize that if he's on the streets, or if he's with somebody he shouldn't then they will call 911 immediately.”
Anyone with information about Elijah's whereabouts can contact the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children at 1-800-THE-LOST or Tolleson police at 1-623-936-7186.
veryGood! (5639)
Related
- Jessica Simpson’s Sister Ashlee Simpson Addresses Eric Johnson Breakup Speculation
- Kali Uchis Gives Birth, Welcomes First Baby With Don Toliver
- Steven Mnuchin wants to buy TikTok: Former Treasury Secretary says he's gathering investors
- Dua Lipa, Shania Twain, SZA, more to perform at sold out Glastonbury Festival 2024
- Cavaliers' Darius Garland rediscovers joy for basketball under new coach
- Coal Power Plunged Again in 2023 and Is Fading Away in the U.S. So What Replaces It?
- Coal Power Plunged Again in 2023 and Is Fading Away in the U.S. So What Replaces It?
- AP Week in Pictures: North America
- Dramatic video shows Phoenix police rescue, pull man from car submerged in pool: Watch
- Lindsay Lohan Embracing Her Postpartum Body Is a Lesson on Self-Love
Ranking
- Wind-whipped wildfire near Reno prompts evacuations but rain begins falling as crews arrive
- Lindsay Lohan Embracing Her Postpartum Body Is a Lesson on Self-Love
- Oklahoma State men's basketball coach Mike Boynton fired after seven seasons with Cowboys
- Fox News' Benjamin Hall on life two years after attack in Kyiv: Love and family 'saved me'
- FBI raids New York City apartment of Polymarket CEO Shayne Coplan, reports say
- Cat falls into vat of toxic chemicals and runs away, prompting warning in Japanese city
- AP Week in Pictures: North America
- Trump and his lawyers make two arguments in court to get classified documents case dismissed
Recommendation
-
FBI offers up to $25,000 reward for information about suspect behind Northwest ballot box fires
-
How well does Beyonce's Cécred work on highly textured hair? A hairstylist weighs in
-
From Asteroids to Guitar Hero, World Video Game Hall of Fame finalists draw from 4 decades
-
Kelly Clarkson and Peyton Manning to Host Opening Ceremony for 2024 Paris Olympics
-
Are Ciara Ready and Russell Wilson Ready For Another Baby? She Says…
-
Georgia men accused of blowing up woman's home, planning to release python to eat her child
-
Biden says he would sign TikTok bill that could ban app
-
Anti-terrorism team of U.S. Marines sent to Haiti to protect U.S. Embassy after prime minister says he will resign