Current:Home > Stocks13-year-old walked away from his mom at Arizona car wash. A month later, he's still missing. -PrestigeTrade
13-year-old walked away from his mom at Arizona car wash. A month later, he's still missing.
View
Date:2025-04-21 23:33:13
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! (8)
Related
- Former Danish minister for Greenland discusses Trump's push to acquire island
- Horoscopes Today, September 1, 2024
- Shohei Ohtani back in Anaheim: Dodgers star chases 50-50 before first postseason trip
- 'Angry' LSU coach Brian Kelly slams table after 'unacceptable' loss to USC
- Nearly half of US teens are online ‘constantly,’ Pew report finds
- Iga Swiatek and Daniil Medvedev, two former US Open champions, advance to quarterfinals
- 1 person dead following shooting at New York City's West Indian Day Parade, police say
- Venice Lookback: When ‘Joker’ took the festival, and skeptics, by surprise
- Head of the Federal Aviation Administration to resign, allowing Trump to pick his successor
- Tennis Player Yulia Putintseva Apologizes for Behavior Towards Ball Girl at US Open Amid Criticism
Ranking
- Opinion: Gianni Infantino, FIFA sell souls and 2034 World Cup for Saudi Arabia's billions
- Howard University’s capstone moment: Kamala Harris at top of the ticket
- The Latest: Presidential campaigns begin sprint to election day
- Trans-Siberian Orchestra reveals 2024 dates for The Lost Christmas Eve tour
- The White House is cracking down on overdraft fees
- 2024 US Open: Here’s how to watch on TV, betting odds and more you should know
- Heat wave to bake Southwest; temperatures could soar as high as 120 degrees
- Elle Macpherson Details “Daunting” Private Battle With Breast Cancer
Recommendation
Tree trimmer dead after getting caught in wood chipper at Florida town hall
Is your monthly Social Security benefit higher or lower than the average retiree's?
Murder on Music Row: Could Kevin Hughes death be mistaken identity over a spurned lover?
COVID-19 government disaster loans saved businesses, but saddled survivors with debt
Opinion: Gianni Infantino, FIFA sell souls and 2034 World Cup for Saudi Arabia's billions
Joey Chestnut vs. Kobayashi: Chestnut sets record in winning hot dog eating rematch
South Carolina Is Considered a Model for ‘Managed Retreat’ From Coastal Areas Threatened by Climate Change
Congo says at least 129 people died during an attempted jailbreak, most of them in a stampede