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UPDATE: Teen Found Following Saturday Disappearance

A teen reported missing over the weekend was reportedly found safe Monday, officials said.


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Elias Ortiz, 16, was last seen being dropped off at home by friends following West Ranch High School’s Homecoming dance on Saturday night, but was nowhere to be found the following morning.

According to one of Ortiz’s older sisters, her brother called their parents on Sunday from a phone in Sacramento after having been missing since that morning.

“He called and told my dad that he was in Sacramento and he had blacked out and couldn’t remember how he got there,” said Emmy Christine Macias, Ortiz’s oldest sister. “My dad said he sounded scared and wanted to come home.”

Her father then told him to put gas in the car and come home. However, as of Monday afternoon, Ortiz has yet to return to his family, according to Macias.

Following the mysterious Sunday phone call, Ortiz’s parents filed a police report with the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station and began to look for answers.

“My dad knew something was wrong when the next morning Elias wasn’t home, but my dad’s keys and car was gone,” said Macias. “But Elias doesn’t have a license, only a (learner’s) permit.”

Along with the missing car, there has been unexplained withdrawals from the young man’s bank account.

“My dad looked at my brother’s Bank of America account and it looks like (Elias) has kept withdrawing cash in Sacramento and in different places,” said Macias. “And he’s still trying to pull out cash but the bank is now denying him because of all the recent activity.”

Additionally, the family searched the young man’s room, searching for any clues that they could use to aid in the search.

“When we were tearing up his room, we found a bunch of post-it notes and we thought it might be some kind of code related to his video games,” continued Macias.

Ortiz, the youngest of five kids, has always been a good student and person, and in fact, his passion and hobby for video games is the only thing his family has ever worried about with him, according to Macias.

“He’s a serious gamer, and we’ve only ever been worried about him being so into his video games,” said Macias. “He goes to school and he’s a great kid, so this is really out of character for him.”

After the report had been filed by her parents, detectives began treating this as a potential missing persons case, according to Macias.

“If you have any information about my brother’s whereabouts, please contact the Santa Clarita Sheriff’s Department. If you see the post on Facebook, they should share it,” said Macias. “We also notified the Sacramento police department, so sharing the post on Facebook can help us spread the word up there also.”

Elias Ortiz is Hispanic, with brown hair and eyes, and is bi-lingual, according to Macias.

Ortiz was last seen traveling in a gray 1999 Honda Accord four-door sedan, California license plate number 6RSZ798, according to Macias.

People assisting with the search of Elias Ortiz on social media have been utilizing the following hastags: #eliascomehome, #bringourboyhome, #santaclarita, #sacramentoca and #weloveyoubo.

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UPDATE: Teen Found Following Saturday Disappearance

One comment

  1. Don’t you think it is possible that he was abducted and is being held against his will and someone forced hime to call his parents and tell them he blacked out so they wouldn’t think he was kidnapped? And someone has been forcing him to withdraw the money for themselves? This makes sense to me and that someone was waiting for him when he got home from the dance and took him away against his will and this is why the poor kid is terrified! This is my hunch on it all. Especially since he is a great kid and doesn’t even drive yet.

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About Caleb Lunetta

Caleb has been a Santa Clarita resident for most of his life. After attending Hart High School, Caleb went on to study political science at the University of California, Santa Barbara along with College of the Canyons.