More than a month has passed since the strange and sudden disappearance of a 13-year-old boy travelling through Arizona with his mother, and the teen is still missing.
According to an Oct. 1 post from the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, Elijah Gumbus was last seen on surveillance video that shows him leaving Weiss Guys Express Wash in Tolleson, Ariz., on Aug. 31, citing the local police department. USA Today has obtained that surveillance footage, per a report published this week.
In the video, the young man in a red shirt can be seen getting out of his mother’s car and jogging west, said the outlet. His mother can be heard calling out his name before the video cuts off.
KPNX reported that Gumbus and his mother were driving from California to Louisiana for her work and they have no known ties to Arizona. Lt. Lee Garrett of Tolleson said Gumbus’ mother was in the process of washing the vehicle when her son took off.
“We’re extremely concerned. We’re very involved. We have a detective that is 100% dedicated to just this case at this point,” said Garrett. He also said that Gumbus’ mother said she witnessed him get into a maroon SUV. However, that account has not been confirmed.
Authorities said there is a history of custody issues between Gumbus’ parents. Neither live in Arizona and police confirmed the teen is not with either of them, said the KPNX report. Per the NCMEC, it is possible that Gumbus may still be in Arizona, or he may travel to California, Louisiana or Las Vegas, Nevada.
“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,” Garrett told KPNX.
Garret said the “most concerning” thing about the case is the fact the Gumbus doesn’t have ties to anyone in Arizona.
“We don’t know how he would have connected with somebody here, or if he just simply ran away,” Garrett explained. “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.”
Local authorities have also teamed up with the Federal Bureau of Investigation to work on the case.
“USA Today contacted Tolleson police on Wednesday but has not yet received a response,” said that outlet.
Anyone who believes they have information about Gumbus’ whereabouts should contact Tolleson Police Department’s tip line at 623-936-7186. People can also report an anonymous tip to Silent Witness by calling 480-WITNESS.