The mother of a 17-year-old Dos Pueblos High sophomore who has been missing since Thursday afternoon is seeking the public’s help in locating him.
Cary Lynch is 5-foot-11 and weighs 150 pounds. The light-skinned black youth has brown hair and brown eyes. He was last seen wearing a T-shirt, jeans and new white K-Swiss shoes and carrying a blue backpack. His mother, Wendy Lynch, said her son is “easily distractable,” although also “pleasant and alert.”
“My son is the most precious thing to me,” said the Storke Ranch resident.
The teen’s disappearance has been reported to the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department, his mother said.
“They have classified it as a runaway,” she said.
The Sheriff’s Department could not be reached for comment Friday, nor could school officials.
Lynch said she has been driving around the high school, where, according to a friend, her son was last seen about 1 p.m. Thursday. She also has been driving around Isla Vista and Goleta. Lynch said her son was missing throughout fourth, fifth and sixth class periods Thursday. He also has not been answering his cell phone.
“I’m a little disappointed,” she said. “I thought I made provisions for his safety.”
Lynch said her son has attention deficit disorder and requires an escort from class to class. He wandered from school once two weeks ago, she said, but the school and police were able to locate him.
In the meantime, Lynch continues to look for her missing son.
“I don’t know what to do. He’s not into gangs, not into bad things. He might be afraid that he’s in trouble,” she said, although she has left him several messages on his cell phone telling him he’s not in trouble and to come home.
“In my heart I think he’s safe,” she said.
Anyone with information about Cary Lynch’s whereabouts is urged to call 9-1-1 or the Sheriff’s Department at 805.681.4100.
“If you find him, please take him with you to your home or business and I will come and get him from you,” his mother wrote in an e-mail appeal to the public. “He would be glad to see a friendly face.”
— Noozhawk staff writer Sonia Fernandez can be reached at sfernandez@noozhawk.com.