ZECHARIAH MASSEY and MARISA "FAITHE" WHITTEN - 15 yo - Fairplay/Oconee County SC

OCONEE COUNTY, S.C. -- Deputies are asking the public to help them find a 15-year-old who they believe is armed and on the run with his girlfriend. Investigators said Zechariah Massey left his home in Fairplay without
his parent’s permission.



He is believed to be driving a dark blue 2008
Chevrolet Cobalt.Massey was last seen wearing a blue hooded
sweatshirt and jeans. He has brown hair and blue eyes. Massey attends
Pendleton High School.Deputies said Massey may be with his
girlfriend, Faith Witton, who is missing from Central. In a note found
by Massey’s parents, the teen said he took a .38 caliber handgun when
he left home.Investigators are asking anyone having any information to contact the Oconee County Sheriff’s Office at 864-638-4111.

Several days have passed and still there’s no sign of two teens who ran away, armed with a gun.
Zechariah Keith Massey, 15, and his girlfriend, Marisa Faithe Whitten, 15,
have been missing since Wednesday.Zechariah’s
parents found a letter from their son on the kitchen table at their
home on Hornick Drive in the Fairplay area of Oconee County.Tracie Massey,
Zechariah’s mother, read a portion of the note to News 4’s Mandy Gaither:"Mom
and dad, I'm sorry but I have got to go. You can't stop me. I can't
tell you where i'm going because I don't know. Thanks for everything.
I'm proud to say I have you two for parents. Some families have one
screwed up child, but y'all didn't. Y'all have 3 perfect children. You
did an excellent job, but don't worry. I will be proud to return to
call myself a Massey again. I took some money, but right now I'm just
Zechariah Keith. I cry out as I write, but don't be sad. I will guard
myself.” The two are armed with a .38 caliber gun, which was
passed down to Zechariah from his grandfather. Zechariah’s parents say
the gun is 70-years-old and their son only took it to protect himself.
“He's just trying to keep them safe," said Tracie Massey.In a tearful plea,
Massey begged her son to come home."I
just miss him. I want him home. I'm scared for his safety," said
Massey. “There's nothing worse than walking into your child's room,
expecting him to be there and he's not. And, you can't protect them
when they're gone. We have no idea where they are."Zechariah met
his girlfriend in ROTC at Pendleton High School. Massey’s mother says
both are honor students and may have run away because the parents were
trying to slow down the teens’ relationship.The teens may be in
a dark blue 2008 Chevrolet Cobalt with a loud muffler. Anyone with
information is asked to call the Oconee County Sheriff’s Office at
864-638-4111.

ANDERSON —
A reward has been offered in the search for two teens that ran off last week.

Lt. Greg Reed with the Oconee County Sheriff’s office said Wednesday
that the families of Zechariah Massey and Marisa “Faithe” Whitten, both
15, have offered a $2,000 reward for information leading to the safe
return of the two who are believed to be traveling together.

Reed said there are no new developments in the search for the Massey, who was reported missing Feb. 24.

“We do know they have a car, but we don’t know where they may have gone,” Reed said.

Because Massey is from Oconee County and Whitten is from Anderson
County, investigators from both counties are involved in the search.

Anderson County Sheriff’s Lt. Garland Major said there are no new
developments in their investigation of Whitten’s disappearance. Whitten
was reported missing Feb. 24.

“We are still following leads, but there is nothing else to release today,” he said.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Anderson County
Sheriff’s Office at (864) 260-4400 or the Oconee County Sheriff’s
Office at (864) 638-4111.

Two 15-year-old reported missing on Feb. 24 have been located safe in Georgia, according to investigators.
Travis Tilson, with the Oconee County Sheriff’s Office, said Zechariah
Massey and Faith Witton were located Thursday in Perry, Ga. He said
they are both safe and in good health.Anderson County sheriff’s
Lt. Garland J. Major said Massey and Witton arrived in Perry, Ga. on
Monday and got jobs at a local restaurant. The restaurant owner became
wary of the couple and asked Perry police to investigate. The officers
identified them as runaways and took them into custody.Massey
had left a note, and his parents said he took a gun with him. But they
stressed that they were sure he was only carrying the weapon for
protection.Investigators from Oconee and Anderson counties were on the way to Georgia Thursday afternoon to transport the teens back home.Massey and Witton are expected to be returned to their parents’ custody Thursday night or early Friday.