HASTINGS, Fla. – The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, along with the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office, said they are searching for missing 16-year-old Collin Kirk, who was last seen in Hastings on Jan. 3.
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According to the NCMEC, Collin was last seen around 6:30 p.m. at his home in Hastings where he was watching movies with his siblings before heading outside to turn on a heat lamp for the family’s dogs. The organization says Collin didn’t return home following that action.
"Home security footage captures Collin attending to the dogs, but his movements after that remain unclear,“ the NCMEC said. ”Authorities believe that Collin left willingly and may have traveled to the Wallins Creek, Kentucky, area, more than 600 miles away from his home."
He is described as 5 feet and 4 inches tall, 125 pounds with brown eyes and brown hair.
His stepmother, Jessica Kirk, said the family is extremely worried for his well-being, noting that he has never gone missing before and has made no attempts to contact his family since his disappearance.
She added this message in hopes that it would reach her stepson.
Collin, we want you to know that we love and miss you so much. We will never stop searching for you, even if it kills us. You are heavy in our thoughts and our hearts and always will be. A week has gone by in our search for you, and we will not stop searching until we find the truth.
For those that know something about our boy, please find it in your heart to let us know he is OK. Please speak up in truth. Not knowing how he is or what he’s going through is torturous for us. We are tormented daily at the idea that something has happened to him.
We as a family are taking this so hard. Your siblings have no idea what to think or how to feel. They don’t understand how or why something like this could happen. A part of our family is missing. We need you, and the sooner you can come home to us, the sooner we will feel whole again.
Jessica Kirk, Collin Kirk's stepmother
The St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office said its Special Victims Unit is investigating Collin’s disappearance and is in communication with law enforcement agencies in Kentucky.
Anyone with information about Collin’s whereabouts is encouraged to call SJSO at 904-824-8304 or the NCMEC at 1-800-THE-LOST (1-800-843-5678).
