The wording and language used by the family, so far, has definitely been odd and extremely vague since day one! I didn't even realize that the "Help Find Tyler" Facebook page was being managed by a family member until recently, because the postings seemed so impersonal that I was sure that it was coming from someone who didn't know him personally! Now the question that plagues me is if they are being vague on purpose because they are trying to protect themselves, or if it is simply because they don't have any details and are almost as clueless as we are.
It might not matter what their reasoning is. But since so many members of the general public has been following his story closely, have volunteered to help, and have been concerned and worried sick; it would be nice if they could just speak straight, for once! It would ease a lot of worried peoples' minds to just hear them say "We know that he chose to leave and we're only asking now that he let us know he is safe."
But instead, they keep speaking in riddles, even while the Sheriff's Dept and KOMO news, etc. seem to confirm he left by choice. Why would the family seem to dance around the topic, unless they either do not agree with the Sheriff's Dept assessment, or they don't want to be questioned about why Tyler would run away? If they do not agree that Tyler left on his own accord, it would be good for the public to know that, too! Because there is no doubt that when a Sheriff's Dept makes such a claim, a lot of the public interest and the volunteering will die down. That shouldn't happen if the family still truly believes he could be in danger!
I think it is important to note that there could be a big difference between Tyler having "ran away" and Tyler being kept hidden somewhere by someone. I feel like if he just took off on his own, with no outside help, his reasoning could be almost anything. BUT, if a friend/family member/someone in the community is actually HIDING him somewhere, or helped to smuggle him out of town, that would seem to indicate something much more sinister.
I don't know many people who would be willing to do something like that, and not even let LE or his family know he is safe, unless they believed Tyler was in danger or was in a really bad situation at home. So if LE believes that someone in the area assisted Tyler or is even now letting him hide out, they really might should take a closer look at his home life. It could be over something dumb, like a disagreement over a girl he wanted to date or something. But I just can't fathom that someone responsible enough to keep Tyler hidden, fed, clothed, etc., would also be immature enough to hide him out over some minor teenaged drama.
