Missing Person Report: Have You Seen William Van Croft?

Have you seen William Van Croft?

We just saw a news bulletin that 17 year old William Van Croft, who has Asperger's Syndrome disappeared on January 31, 2009 - the one year anniversary of his father's death.

Here's the police bulletin:

The Metropolitan Police Department is seeking the public’s assistance in locating a missing person identified as 17-year-old William Vancroft. He was last seen at about 4:30 pm on Thursday, January 31, 2009 in the 1300 block of G Street, SE. (Washington D.C.)

William is described as a medium complexioned black male, 5’8” tall, weighing about 168 pounds, with brown eyes and black hair. He was last seen wearing blue jeans and a burgundy sweater.

He is in need of medication and may appear to be disoriented.

Anyone who has information regarding William Vancroft’s whereabouts is asked to call police at (202) 727-9099.

And here's an update from his mother Jackie:

Posted by Jason Cherkis on Feb. 25, 2009, at 3:51 pm

This afternoon, I checked in with Jackie Van Croft. On January 31, her son William went missing. He’s still missing. William has Asperger’s Syndrome. He disappeared on the one-year anniversary of his father’s death.

“The police are working on all leads,” Van Croft says. “They have been getting tips, people have been calling in the tip line. They are responding to all leads. His case has not been forgotten. I know it seems like — I don’t know what other family members do, I’m trying to do what I can to protect my son.”

It’s hard to protect a missing son. “My son has been through a great deal and the family has been through a lot,” Van Croft says. “It’s really difficult to think about him being out there and not have the family to protect him. He had a mentor/therapist. He had lots of therapists. And of those people were there to help him grow. And help him to become a whole person, a wonderful person. Now, he’s out there.”

I ask Van Croft what a normal day is like now. “I just try to work,” she explains. “I still cook in a large quantity because I expect him to be coming in. I tend to pick up his favorite foods….Fridays are still devoted to wrestling. So are Mondays. Fridays are wrestling night and pizza.”

Today, Van Croft called her son’s school just to check in. “I try to give updates,” she says. “The kids are worried and they want their classmate back. I wanted to assure them that I feel he’s coming back.”

Van Croft drives by the places her son was last seen. She has two daughters. The youngest came home a few weeks ago with a tip. “A classmate thought he saw Billy on the bus,” Van Croft recalls, adding that her daughter had instructions on what to do with this tip: “Make sure you tell the police.”

“We’re keeping strong,” Van Croft says. “There have been some really good tips and we’re pushing forward. I will let you know when Billy comes home.”