The families of two teenagers who went missing before sending concerning text messages of their whereabouts have spoken out about their grief, before a twist saw them located safe and well.
A Victorian father reunited with his son who was missing for four hours but found safe at the Spit on the Gold Coast. Source: 9 News Gold Coast
Police commenced a search for the two 14-year-olds who went missing after being dropped at school, with the boy’s family sharing screenshots of the concerning last texts they received from him.
On Monday afternoon, SA Police confirmed a missing persons report had been filed for Callum Schiller, 14, and his girlfriend Crystal, 14, who were last seen on a bus to the Adelaide Hills suburb of Mount Barker at 10.15am on Monday.
The two were last seen on a bus in Murray Bridge. Picture: Supplied
Crystal’s mother Jaime Atkins told NCA NewsWire she had no idea why her daughter disappeared.
“I don’t know what they’re doing, or where they are,” she said.
“It’s completely out of character for Crystal.”
She said the duo had been dating for about 2 months, but Callum was the only one with a phone.
“Crystal’s phone is broken and she hasn’t had it repaired yet, so it’s just him with a phone.”
At 9.40pm, SA Police confirmed the pair had been located safe and well.
Callum’s sister Ebony Schiller said they were found on the corner of East and North Terrace in the Adelaide CBD and were taken to the Hindley Street Police station to wait for their families.
In a desperate plea to find Callum, his family took to social media earlier on Monday to ask anyone who might have seen the boy to contact them.
“We have no idea whether he has caught a linking bus or is in Mt Barker,” Ms Schiller wrote on Facebook.
“Callum is uncontactable.
“Last messages include: he can’t see, he’s in a boot, he can’t say anything or he will get hit.”
Callum said he was locked in a boot. Picture: Supplied
Ms Schiller, speaking alongside her father, told NCA NewsWire he went missing with his girlfriend after they were dropped off at school.
“They were dropped off at school this morning at about 8.30am, but they never went in,” she said.
She said they bought bus tickets to Mount Barker from the Murray Bridge Information Centre, but weren’t seen on any other CCTV footage.
Callum Schiller was last seen on Monday morning. Picture: Supplied
The pair have since been located safe and well. Picture: SA Police
“Police said they were going to search a property in the city, but we don’t recognise the name of the person who owns it,” Ms Schiller said.
Callum’s father Chris Schiller said he hoped the texts weren’t true, but that he didn’t think his son would make that kind of joke.
“He’s never done anything like this before, it’s very out of character so we’re very concerned,” he said.
“We hope everything is okay.”
Ms Atkins thanked the community for their support, after the initial Facebook post raising the alarm was shared over seven thousand times.
“I am completely overwhelmed with support,” Ms Atkins said.