Two Central Texas teenagers, reported missing last week, were found safe in Austin on Thursday, with 15-year-old Kate Mathews's mother disclosing her daughter is now in recovery after the unsettling experience. Mathews and her boyfriend, who had been absent from school since December 14, had local communities concerned after they vanished without a trace, their absence reported by worried parents who last saw them that morning. In a remark made by Mathews' mother to MySanAntonio, the relief is palpable: "she is currently getting the help she needs in this long recovery."
The trajectory of their disappearance unfolded when the Austin American-Statesman caught Mathews on a Round Rock H-E-B surveillance camera on December 19, sporting a large, red hoodie with blue writing that differed from the attire she wore at the time of her going missing, her mother noted, raised suspicions that her boyfriend might have had a hand in their disappearance, but further details of their time away remain scarce, although the Austin police had previously stopped short of an all-out search, classifying Mathews as a runaway rather than an endangered individual.
In an unrelated but similarly distressing situation, the San Antonio Police Department is urgently seeking a 16-year-old girl, Zoey Star Chagoy, who disappeared on September 26 on the Southeast Side of San Antonio. Chagoy, who is in need of medical care, was last observed wearing a white shirt, blue jeans, and silver Crocs, equipped with a gunpin, accessorizing with big false eyelashes and carrying a taupe-colored bag splattered with neon graffiti. As detailed by officials with the San Antonio Police Department and shared via MySanAntonio, the teen is missing under circumstances not fully made public, a troubling situation given her specific health needs and description that includes shoulder-length dark hair and a distinct mole on the base of her neck.
Authorities are urging anyone with knowledge of Chagoy's whereabouts to come forward and are reminding citizens that harboring a runaway, although it is not confirmed Chagoy falls under this category, remains a criminal offense with substantial consequences as stated in a stern reminder by the police, anyone with information should not hesitate but immediately contact the Missing Persons Unit.
