Found Safe NJ - Thomas Kolding, 15, Mountain Lakes, 30 Oct 2018

[Stunned]

Boy, he is quite the little traveler!

 

[TCIntriguedIN30]

What is the age where the parents do not have to pay for someone to accompany a child?

southwest they stop accompanying minors at age 11 .. My son who just turned 12 flew down this summer and what southwest relayed to me is at 12 he can fly alone, we can walk all the way to the gate and watch him board the plane. He cannot fly connecting flight trips till he is 17. He always flies straight through anyways but in case we wanted to do a different route he would have to be 17 unless it was a direct flight.

 

[kevrock16]

Something is just not sitting right with me concerning this situation.. I can't put my finger on it, but just can't shake the hinky feeling I have

I completely agree with you. This is about more than grades.

 

[SD123Me]

I’m aware they can only accompany him to security. However if he’s in the Netherlands or wheveter it is they go each summer, it’s less likely he’d have a way to runaway from the airport considering he’s not from there. I disagree there’s “PLENTY of opportunity”’ for a kid to escape from a foreign airport.

<modsnip - condescending >, I indicated both departures and arrivals. That would indicate not only foreign airports.

 

[Gardener1850]

Missing Mountain Lakes teen reportedly spotted in Ohio

I'm trying to figure out why Miami Township, Ohio. If that was indeed him it seems like an oddly specific place to be seen passing through.

Major transportation routes in Miami Township:
Interstate Routes I-75, I-675
Rail Lines (Freights) Baltimore & Ohio Railroad
Bike/Pedestrian Routes Great Miami River Trail, Miami Township Trail, Medlar Trail
State Routes S.R. 725, S.R. 741, S.R. 4
Air Transportation Dayton Wright Brothers Airport
Public Transit Greater Dayton Regional Transit Authority (RTA)
*Southern Hub located in Miami Township
Transportation | Miami Township, OH - Official Website

There are Greyhound bus stations in nearby Dayton (looks like RTA connecting to the Southern hub could get him to Miami Township?). But according to the Greyhound website he would need an adult to sign an "Unaccompanied Child" form at the ticket counter: Children-Travelling

I suppose he might have paid someone in Philadelphia to pretend to be his dad and sign the form? Otherwise it looks like he might be hitchhiking... If this was him that is. And why would he go to Miami Township?

 

[Alleykins]

Gardener, it's possible if he's hitchhiking he's going wherever he can get a ride toward his destination, even if it may not be a straight shot. But, he seems rather clever, so maybe he planned a route where he thought he would have the least chance of discovery, or picked a route where he may know people along the way.

 

[bears10]

<modsnip - condescending >, I indicated both departures and arrivals. That would indicate not only foreign airports.

<modsnip - referenced portion snipped>

I find it doubtful he’d be able to run away from JFK airport if his parents were waiting for him to arrive. I don’t think there’d be PLENTY of opportunity for him to run away from JFK, LGA, or even Newark.

 

[SD123Me]

I'm trying to figure out why Miami Township, Ohio. If that was indeed him it seems like an oddly specific place to be seen passing through.

Major transportation routes in Miami Township:
Interstate Routes I-75, I-675
Rail Lines (Freights) Baltimore & Ohio Railroad
Bike/Pedestrian Routes Great Miami River Trail, Miami Township Trail, Medlar Trail
State Routes S.R. 725, S.R. 741, S.R. 4
Air Transportation Dayton Wright Brothers Airport
Public Transit Greater Dayton Regional Transit Authority (RTA)
*Southern Hub located in Miami Township
Transportation | Miami Township, OH - Official Website

There are Greyhound bus stations in nearby Dayton (looks like RTA connecting to the Southern hub could get him to Miami Township?). But according to the Greyhound website he would need an adult to sign an "Unaccompanied Child" form at the ticket counter: Children-Travelling

I suppose he might have paid someone in Philadelphia to pretend to be his dad and sign the form? Otherwise it looks like he might be hitchhiking... If this was him that is. And why would he go to Miami Township?

I really hope he wasn’t lured to Ohio, I-75 or that particular area via an online relationship. The I-75 corridor is very dangerous and known for human trafficking. When I saw Miami Twp my heart sank.

 

[Elainera]

Missing Mountain Lakes teen reportedly spotted in Ohio

Just wanted to point out for readers who only saw this headline that the Ohio sighting is not a confirmed sighting.

"Police in Miami Township, Ohio, on Friday reported possible sightings of missing Mountain Lakes teen Thomas Kolding"

The last confirmed sighting is still Camden.

 

[turanna25]

Very worried about this boy. What is his plan when he gets to wherever he is going? He is not old enough to rent a hotel room or do much of anything on his own. I understand his parents state he is very mature for his age but that still doesn't mean he has the life experience to handle the real world outside of mountain lakes NJ. Mountain Lakes is a very nice town, much different from how scary and real the world can actually be.. Hopefully he doesn't run into any nefarious people along the way. Praying for him.

 

[castilloisno1]

I would be desperate if my 15 year old went missing no matter how mature. I worried over my daughter when she went on a college trip to the UK. It has been in msm that he is carrying cash. What if the wrong person spots him? Does he truly have street smarts?

 

[turanna25]

I would be desperate if my 15 year old went missing no matter how mature. I worried over my daughter when she went on a college trip to the UK. It has been in msm that he is carrying cash. What if the wrong person spots him? Does he truly have street smarts?

Exactly. Thats what i'm worried about. I remember myself at his age. I was VERY mature at that age but i was still a little naive and made silly mistakes that put me in harms way on occasion. I'm just hoping he's okay and reaches out to his family.

 

[human]

He may be mature and smart. But nefarious people he may meet up with don’t care if he is.

 

[poopybilly]

Is he still missing???

 

[Elainera]

I would be desperate if my 15 year old went missing no matter how mature. I worried over my daughter when she went on a college trip to the UK. It has been in msm that he is carrying cash. What if the wrong person spots him? Does he truly have street smarts?

Exactly. Tbh I don't understand why they made it public that he carries all that cash. It could definitely add to the danger he's in. How much is left of it I wonder after almost two weeks on the road?

 

[Gunslinging Granny]

The low temps around Philadelphia and Delaware are dropping into the 20s on Wednesday.

Thomas won't be admitted to an male homeless shelter. All the shelters in my city require the homeless to shower nightly in the communal shower, so it's likely this is standard procedure for American homeless shelters. (Their mattresses and pillows aren't disposable and could be vectors for diseases.) No staff member is going to admit tiny, young-looking Thomas into the adult male shelter because he can't safely enter the mandatory communal shower. Some of their adult clients are homeless specifically because they're RSO.

Youth shelters are scarce and also require an ID to obtain services. They aren't domestic abuse shelters that hide their clients. The staff asks a lot of questions and will call the police and Children and Youth Services if Thomas shows up.

Even if Thomas has a fake ID, he clearly appears to be a child and homeless shelters around Philadelphia, NY, and Delaware probably have been given his photo.

 

[zecats]

The low temps around Philadelphia and Delaware are dropping into the 20s on Wednesday.

Thomas won't be admitted to an male homeless shelter. All the shelters in my city require the homeless to shower nightly in the communal shower, so it's likely this is standard procedure for American homeless shelters. (Their mattresses and pillows aren't disposable and could be vectors for diseases.) No staff member is going to admit tiny, young-looking Thomas into the adult male shelter because he can't safely enter the mandatory communal shower. Some of their adult clients are homeless specifically because they're RSO.

Youth shelters are scarce and also require an ID to obtain services. They aren't domestic abuse shelters that hide their clients. The staff asks a lot of questions and will call the police and Children and Youth Services if Thomas shows up.

Even if Thomas has a fake ID, he clearly appears to be a child and homeless shelters around Philadelphia, NY, and Delaware probably have been given his photo.

I was thinking about the weather as well. It's gotten a lot colder since he first took off, especially in the Northeast and into Midwest if he's headed through Ohio. Even during the day, it's not warm enough to be outside all day. Wandering if he is still in this area, or if the Ohio sighting is credible. Or maybe he headed south to warmer temps. Trail seems to have run a bit cold. And I'm at a loss myself as to how he could be traveling due to his being and looking 15.

 

[Judas]

I was thinking about the weather as well. It's gotten a lot colder since he first took off, especially in the Northeast and into Midwest if he's headed through Ohio. Even during the day, it's not warm enough to be outside all day. Wandering if he is still in this area, or if the Ohio sighting is credible. Or maybe he headed south to warmer temps. Trail seems to have run a bit cold. And I'm at a loss myself as to how he could be traveling due to his being and looking 15.

There are places that people can hang out all night and be warm: hospital waiting rooms, 24-hour-Walmarts, fast food restaurants, train and bus stations. This is going to sound incredibly weird but if I were Thomas and wanted to not be seen, I'd dress as a young woman. 5'3 and 120 or whatever he is, is tiny for a male, but would work for an adult female.

 

[inmyhumbleopinion]

From a press release issued by the Morris County Prosecutor’s Office yesterday, November 10th. They are confirming that Thomas was indeed in Philly on November 3rd:

“Morris County Prosecutor Fredric M. Knapp, Morris County Prosecutor’s Office Chief of Investigations Stephen F. Wilson Jr., and Mountain Lakes Police Chief Shawn Bennett are seeking the public’s assistance in locating a 15 year old male from Mountain Lakes, New Jersey, who has been missing since October 30, 2018.

Thomas Kolding, who lives in Mountain Lakes with his parents, was last known to be at his family home on October 30, 2018. It has been confirmed that Kolding travelled by train from Denville to Newark – Broad Street Station. From there, he travelled by train from Broad Street Station to New York Penn Station. In the early afternoon of November 3, 2018, Kolding was seen in Camden, New Jersey at the Walter Rand Train Station.

[SBM]

Law enforcement officials were able to further confirm that he was later seen in Philadelphia, PA, on the corner of Race and 5th Streets, at approximately 3:00 PM on that same date.” (BBM)

More at link:
Authorities Seeking Public Assistance in Locating Missing 15 Year Old Male from Mountain Lakes, New Jersey | Morris County Prosecutor's Office

 

[Stunned]

IMO, he is getting help from someone.