The search continues for a California teen who vanished in Arizona this summer.
Elijah Gumbus, 13, vanished from Weiss Guys Car Wash in Maricopa County on August 31. USA Today reported that surveillance footage showed Gumbus leaving his mother’s car and jogging away before his mother could be heard calling his name.
Tolleson police Lt. Lee Garrett told KPNX that at the time of Gumbus’ disappearance, he and his mother were on a cross-country road trip from California to Louisiana.
According to Garrett, Gumbus’ mother claimed she saw him get into a maroon SUV. However, that information remains unsubstantiated.
“We’re extremely concerned,” he said. “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.”
Police said there are custody issues between Gumbus’ mother and father, but neither live in Arizona. Police also confirmed the missing teen was not with either of them, KPNX reported.
Gumbus and his mother reportedly have no ties to Arizona. Tolleson police are working with the FBI and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, as they believe Gumbus could be in California, Arizona, Nevada, or Louisiana.
Anyone with information regarding Gumbus’ whereabouts is asked to call the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children at 1-800-THE-LOST or Tolleson police at 1-623-936-7186.
[Feature Photo: National Center for Missing & Exploited Children]
