Family, friends keep hope for missing Morton teen
Its been one week since Morton resident Christy Harper realized her 16-year-old son was missing.
Austin David King had been spending time with friends late June 24 when they decided to go home, and he told Harper he was going to sleep, she said.
"He said he was going to bed and that he would talk to me in the morning," Harper said. "He was laughing, in a good mood, joking with everybody."
By noon the following day a time when family members say King would normally emerge from the detached building next to the familys mobile home his mother noticed he was missing and called 911, she said.
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"Weve ran into dead ends everywhere weve went," Aust said. "Theres no evidence of foul play, but neither is there evidence that hes a runaway."
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King is described by friends and family as a home-schooled boy who would not venture out alone. They say he becomes nervous in the dark and doesnt like going anywhere by himself. Harper said King would never consider running away, and that he would have at least called his girlfriend or friends.
Harper said King had "traumatic experience" some years back that made him reluctant to go anywhere alone.
He has no cellular phone or debit card, and wasnt especially active on social networking sites like MySpace.com. His profile hasnt been updated since days before his disappearance.