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Courtesy of the Crowley family
Missing 15-year-old Pierce Crowley.
A teenager from Westchester County, N.Y., has been missing since last Friday and was "in a fragile state" when he was last seen, his concerned parents said.
Police say Pierce Crowley, 15, of Rye, N.Y., left New York-Presbyterian Hospital in White Plains, N.Y. with a close friend before he went missing.
In an email to friends, his parents wrote that their son was “in a fragile state” and hadn't been feeling well when he disappeared. "It is URGENT that we locate him ASAP," they wrote, according to the New York's Hudson Valley Journal News.
It's not clear what Crowley was in the hospital for. The White Plains medical center is one of the top psychiatric hospitals in the nation.
According to police, Crowley's friend came forward to say the two left the hospital and went to The Cheesecake Factory restaurant together, Newsday reported.
The two then took a cab to the White Plains Metro-North train station, the report said. Crowley's friend took a train to New York City while Crowley stayed behind in the cab.
According to White Plains police, Crowley was last seen wearing a bright blue Florida Gators short sleeve T-shirt with dark blue jeans and black sneakers with lime green-trim. The teen is enrolled at Iona Prep in New Rochelle.
Crowley has light brown hair, blue eyes, and wears braces, The Journal News said. He is 5'10'' and 150 pounds.
Hundreds of volunteers have mobilized to help the Crowleys find their son, a family friend told media. Fliers were posted in Westchester, Manhattan and the Bronx, and the family set up a Facebook page.
“We love Pierce. We miss Pierce,” his father, Peter Crowley, said, according to Newsday. “His brothers miss Pierce. We need him home.”
Crowley family friend Peggy Dunne told The Journal News, “(Pierce) is a charming, talented, bright student and an amazing athlete. His family and his friends are just totally distraught about him missing.”
There is a reward for information that leads to his safe return, the family said. White Plains police have asked anyone with tips to contact them.
More content from msnbc.com and NBC News:
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Let us hope for a safe return.
OOooo my gosh, a psych hospital to missing. What were his parents doing?
Apparently out working to pay for his Prep School tuition.
If he was in such a fragile state, why was a friend accompanying him to a Psych Hospital instead of his family? If that was my child, I would have been with him the whole time!!
Hope his Parents don't live to regret that they left him alone in such a state.
Where is the cab? There must be a record the police can track...to see who the cabbie was and what he did with the kid. I hope they find him and he will be safe.
His parents must have a lot of money to put this story in MSNBC national level. Most local teens 'missing' do not get such luck. It happens everyday. I wish it didn't but it does. I hope he is found and the thousands of other ones too.
We casually accept many teens disappearing, some to a bit more safety than home offered. Some just independent, strong, inquisitive......some are picked up by predators. Some, who knows. My heart cries out for this lost innocence, this lost future, this squandering of our own life force, our children. The Nation cannot allow bigotry, hatred, all that horrid political garbage to come between our hearts and God. If we are actually reading what God has written on the tablets of our hearts, we would see all of our relations in each other and the living beings we share the planet with.
God this God that mumbo jumbo. This story is about a missing teen not a fictional novel written to control the masses.
To this teens parents-- If he was in such a fragile state how come you did not take the time out of your busy life to care for him?
His parents weren't with him because he isn't mentally disabled, he is depressed and this was just supposed to help him out. The reason this is getting so much coverage is because in Westchester things like this don't happen very often and there is a massive public support group on Facebook reaching out to famous people via twitter and other social networking in order to raise awareness. The link to the Facebook page is here Although many children go missing every day and very few if any get this kind of media attention, the most amazing part, which you can't see, is the actions of those in the community trying to help this young man regardless of whether they had ever met him. Thousands have joined in by putting up posters, trying to raise awareness, and by scouring the streets all over southern Westchester and NYC. Despite the terrifying situation, it is incredibly awe-inspiring to see the reaction by people that care about him, his family, and his friends.
Thanks for the update Ryan. So sorry for all the holier- than-thou comments here - people are just downright mean anymore. I hope the boy is found safe and continues to get the help he needs. Let the parents know a lot of good people are thinking of them at this time.
More honesty from the parents might help. He may have access to news and be looking for a specific response. If it is a physiological problem that needs treatment whoever thinks they are helping him should know. If it is a family problem he may need to know he will be heard. Maybe he is tired of being regarded as an "amazing athlete", maybe he wants to he regarded as an amazing artist, or scientist. Hopefully wherever he is he feels and is safe and is not being taken advantage of.
Talk about not having all the facts! If he was an inpatient at the facility he could not have left with a friend. This doesn't sound good at all. If he was an out patient having a friend come to go the the Cheesecake factory restaurant sounds a little like his last meal with a friend.
Voluntary in-patients can leave any time they wish, with or without a friend. Prayers for the missing person, his family and friends and to all the others who are missing, but not important enough for MSNBC my prayers and thoughts are with you as well.
Jeff,
Not kids under the age of 18. They may be voluntary but the hospital cannot allow them to leave with anyone other than a parent or guardian. It's the parents that sign them in and out only.
@William
I thought the same thing! Parents have to be there when he checks in and out!
Fishy story. What a cute and innocent looking kid. Hope he is found soon and safe.
It's so sad that children are troubled at all. Youth should be a carefree and stress free time in all of our lives yet today it is so full of pressures.
No parent should have to worry the way the Crowleys are worrying.
I wish life could be different for many of us.
Please be safe.
I take it this was a Psych hospital?
Do they state his age anywhere? I read it twice, but I still might have somehow missed it. I mean, is he 13 or 18? Big difference, still a teen. Just curious.
He is 15. Not sure if the article updated since you read it but it states it in the title and the second paragraph.
It did and thank you.
Hundreds of kids go missing everyday. Why is this kid special?
Every child is special and why does it matter that he is getting a little press it is not his fault things are inequitable, if he can be found alive then I hope whatever is happening assists in that.
Because he's wealthy and attractive, duh. That being said, I really hope he is OK.
Because rich white people get an automatic "red alert" when they go missing. Did you forget what country this is?
Double the media coverage if the person is also female, triple if female and young, and quadruple coverage plus bonus daily emoting by Nancy Grace if rich, white, female, young, *and* attractive.
"Why is this kid special?" Look at his picture. That's why. Media loves plastering pictures of good looking people in any kind of peril. You don't see ugly missing kids making national headlines unless there's something really sensational about the story. That's the way our sick culture works. I had a georgeous female roommate about 5 years ago. She had been dating a questionable guy and she had left for Vegas and i didn't hear from her for a week. I began to panic and contacted all the news stations in L.A. (ABC, NBC, CBS) with a quick note on the situation and nobody would even return my email or take my call. So I sent a photo of her and within 10 minutes all stations were calling me and ready to run the story. Luckily there had been a communication gap and she was safe. But I learned a lot of how this country and media operates in situations like this.
In my opinion, it seems this kid had this planned - based on the details of the article. I hope for his safe return and his "fragile state" strengthened and renewed.
No one said this kid was admitted for a psychiatric condition. the article just mentioned (perhaps, irresponsibly so) that the facility is known for its psychiatric work. it doesn't mean he was there for a psychiatric problem at all. way to go yet again msnbc. besides, if he was a psych patient he wouldn't be permitted to leave without a parent or guaridan.
Regardless, I hope this kid is found safe and sound and gets back to his family asap
I hope this youngster will figure out what he needs and what assistance can be given to him. Obviously there is a problem because he hasn't contacted his family. Whatever is happening, I hope that he will be found safe and be OK. Life is troubling for teenagers. Difficult for parents too. Sometimes the kids push away too much from parents and the parents are left wondering how to help, etc. Difficult age. Hopefully, he thinks things through. He may have money - was able to take a cab ride, etc. So, maybe "alone" is helpful for a while. Let's hope that is all that is going on here!
Go on home, kiddo, and deal with things. It will get better if you communicate and handle whatever is going on.
The facility is an inpatient/outpatient facility. A lot of teens are there for eating disorders and substance abuse, hence the early afternoon outpatient meeting. I wouldn't classify what they did as escaping more like leaving the group without permission. His parents should be more forthcoming with the information while asking for help. Does this 15 year old boy have a history of substance abuse? Where has he gone in the past to get his drugs? Was he without his cell phone because of the rules of the facility and the program? If he took the Metro North how could there be no images of him getting on or off? This kid ran away and be up in the woods looking for a little peace. He paid for a cab so he might have a few dollars on him to hold up for a few days. I had a lot of classmates and now students of mine who were at the same facility. I agree with the above... go home and communicate with your parents it helps.
So did this cab driver come forth? Did the kid have psychological problems? What did his friend say that was with him? So many questions. where are the answers?
If he was in such a fragile state and being seen at a psych hospital, why wasn't Mom or Dad with him?? We take time off to take our children to Doctors or Dentist appointments. To allow him to go to a psych appointment without a parent and the fact that they know he was in a fragile condition, illustrates to me parental neglect. I hope he is found safe and returns home....
When I was that age I had to work in my parents farm from 6:30 in the morning until noon, so I could go to school in the afternoon. I don't remember having any time left to be something “in a fragile state”.
Probably the reason this guy is "“in a fragile state” is because too much marijuana.
oh poor midnight. things are different than they were 50 years ago
ya we know, you walked to school in the snow uphill both ways blah blah blah......
All the conjecture and finger pointing here serves no purpose other than to make you feel important. You are, but not because of that.
I hope he's safe and well.
Dooly-birds reproduce and create more dooly-birds.