WILLIAM DAMON - 16 yo - Tampa FL

William Damon

Tuesday, November 22, 2011 8:10 PM


TAMPA --

Detectives with the Tampa Police Department are looking for a missing teen, who may be in Central Florida.

They said William Damon, 16, left for a friend's house Saturday night from Tampa and hasn't been seen since.

Investigators said Damon was last seen in Winter Park, where he and his family recently moved from.

On Monday evening, he sent a text to his mother saying he was on his way home, but never arrived.

Police said they believe Damon may be in Daytona Beach.

He was driving his 2007 dark blue Nissan Xterra.

Officials said The Center for Missing and Exploited Children put out an alert.
http://www.cfnews13.com/article/news/2011/november/347951/Police:-Missing-Tampa-teen-may-be-in-Daytona-Beach

http://www.cfnews13.com/article/news/2011/november/348344/Search-expands-for-missing-Tampa-teenager

TAMPA --

Law enforcement agencies across the state are searching for a missing Tampa teenager.

William Damon, 16, left Tampa for a friend's house on Saturday night. On Monday evening, he sent a text to his mother saying he was on his way home, but he never arrived.

Police say his cellphone hasn't been used since then.

The teen, who attends Plant High School, moved to Tampa with his family a few months ago.

He went back to the Orlando area this weekend to stay with a friend and hasn't been seen since leaving his friend’s house driving a dark blue 2007 Nissan X-Terra, Florida tag number 457-XXG.

There is a dent in the rear hatch and a U.S. Army decal on the left side rear window.

Multiple agencies are searching. The Florida Highway Patrol is doing air and ground searches along the interstate from Orlando to Tampa.

The Winter Park Police Department is also involved and has interviewed the teen’s friend and girlfriend but at this point, no one has had any luck in finding him.

The Center for Missing and Exploited Children has also put out an alert for Damon.

Anyone with information about Damon is asked to contact the Tampa Police Department at 813-231-6130 or 911.

Dad of Missing Teen Asks for Help

Family and friends have not seen or heard from Plant High School athlete William "Dean" Damon since Monday, Nov. 21.




“I love you guys, I am on my way home,” William “Dean” Damon texted
his parents in Tampa after pulling out of his friend’s driveway in
Winter Park on Monday, Nov. 21.
“I love you, be safe,” his dad immediately texted back.

It was 4.06 p.m. and the last time family and friends saw or heard from the Plant High School wrestling athlete, known as Dean.

Tampa Police Sgt. Bill Todd said that Dean’s cellphone went off just few blocks away from the friend’s home in Winter Park.
After that, authorities have not been able to locate the missing
teen. He carries no credit cards, and there is no sign of social media activity from him.
“This is totally out of character,” Scott Damon said during a press conference Wednesday, Nov. 23.

Damon described his 16-year-old son as a positive, energetic,
engaging, sweet and friendly fellow who has never missed a curfew.

Saturday, Nov. 19, Dean left his Tampa home in a 2007 dark blue
Nissan X-Terra to visit his girlfriend and friends in the Orlando area.

Damon said that this was his son’s third trip to Winter Park after the family had recently moved to Tampa.

Each time, Dean kept in touch with his parents through frequent phone
calls and texts. Damon said that Dean is an affectionate guy, and it is
not uncommon for him to often say “I love you” on the phone or via texts.

“We have ruled nothing out,” Todd said. “There are a number of scenarios, from running away to abduction.”

The Tampa Police Department and Winter Park Police Department,
Volusia County Sheriff's Office and the Florida Highway Patrol are
working in a coordinated effort on the search for the teen.

Dean’s girlfriend and friends told authorities they did not notice anything weird or unusual.

Over the weekend, they went to the zoo and the movies in Winter Park and had fast food for lunch.

Although Dean travelled with no credit cards, his parents had given him a $160 budget for expenses on the trip.

Dean’s father said he is coping by focusing on getting his son home
safely to his mother and two younger sisters, ages 14 and 11.

Dean is 5-foot-10, 160 pounds and has very short brown hair. He was
traveling in a 2007 dark blue Nissan X-Terra with the tag “457XXG.”

Anyone with information is asked to contact Tampa police at (813) 231-6130.
http://southtampa.patch.com/articles/dad-of-missing-teen-asks-for-help

TAMPA --

A two-day nightmare for Tampa parents ended on Thanksgiving afternoon when their missing son called home.

William "Dean" Damon, 16, called his mother about 3 p.m. Thursday to
let her know he was safe, though he wasn't where the family expected him
to be.

"We are ecstatic, relieved," said father Scott Damon.

William Damon had taken a trip alone on Saturday to visit friends in
Winter Park, near Orlando. On Monday afternoon he sent a text message to
his parents to say he was on his way home, but as of Wednesday
afternoon, he hadn't arrived and wasn't answering his cell phone.

The Tampa Police began a search and put out the news that Damon was missing.

The teen called on Thursday from just north of Ocala. He said he'd heard the news that the police were looking for him.

His parents picked him up and brought him home about 5 p.m. Thursday.

"We're very grateful," Scott Damon said, though he couldn't say much about where his son had been.

"He lost his way, is the best way to put it," Scott Damon said. "To
be honest, I think he was just overwhelmed with teenage things….It's
something we'll sort through."
http://www2.tbo.com/news/breaking-news/2011/nov/24/missing-teen-found-safe-after-he-calls-home-ar-327198/

TAMPA - We still don't know what exactly why a Tampa teenager cut off
contact with his family for three days while staying with a friend in
Orlando.
We do know that several law enforcement agencies
deployed a significant amount of resources at considerable taxpayer
expense to find him.
Dean Damon, 16, drove to the Orlando area over the weekend, and was supposed to return Monday, but never showed up.
He didn’t answer phone calls or text messages, so his parents called police.
"This
is totally out of character for anything we've experienced," his father
Scott Damon said during a news conference on Wednesday with the Tampa
Police Department.
Detectives at the Tampa Police Department
moved quickly. The Florida Highway Patrol and the Florida Department of
Law Enforcement were among the other agencies that joined the search.
They scanned Interstate 4 by air, and authorities in Orlando combed that area as well.
In
the end, police say a friend of Damon's saw the news coverage, and
called police. Damon was in Orlando, then called his parents, and they
came and picked him up.
No total of how much the search cost was immediately available. But police say they wouldn't have done anything differently.
"We
work everything likes it is something until we can prove it's nothing,"
says Lt. Donald McMullen with the Tampa Police Department.
Did the case get special attention? Police say, no.
"It doesn't matter Puerto Rican, Hispanic or black, we'd give the same help, and it's based on need, not color," McMullen said.
FOX
13 has made repeated requests for interviews with the family over the
past couple of days. They did not want to be interviewed. But they did
indicate they are grateful that the Thanksgiving holiday ended with the
news that their missing teen was located, and safe.

http://www.myfoxtampabay.com/dpp/news/local/hillsborough/how-much-did-search-for-teen-cost-11252011