Hays County deputies are asking for the public's help locating Blakely Pierce, who was reported as a runaway and last seen in the Shadow Creek subdivision in Buda. Pierce has silver piercings on her upper cheek, two nose piercings, and a belly button piercing, but no clothing description was provided at the time of the alert.
Deputies Issue Request to Locate
The Hays County Sheriff's Office sought help locating Pierce, according to the Hays County Sheriff's Office on Facebook. Pierce was reported missing from her residence at about 12:30 a.m. on Oct. 14. Anyone with information about her whereabouts is asked to contact law enforcement directly.
The post identifies Detective Scott Zediker as the lead contact on the case, reachable at 737-373-5449 or by email at [email protected]. Tipsters who prefer to remain anonymous can also call Hays County Crime Stoppers at 1-800-324-8477 or submit information online at p3tips.com.
A Familiar Pattern in Hays County
This is not the first time this year the sheriff's office has appealed to the public over a missing teenager. In August, deputies issued a similar alert for 15-year-old Maxsen “Max” Luff, who was reported as a runaway from the San Marcos area under a separate case number. That case, like Pierce's, relied on public appeals and the same Crime Stoppers tip line to help generate leads.
Shadow Creek is a subdivision in Buda.
How Texas Law Treats Runaway Cases
Under Texas Family Code § 51.03, a minor under 17 running away from home is classified as a juvenile status offense rather than a crime, meaning it is handled as a civil supervision matter rather than through the criminal courts, according to FindLaw. Separately, Texas Penal Code § 25.06 makes it a Class A misdemeanor for an adult to knowingly harbor a runaway child under 18 without notifying law enforcement or a parent within 24 hours, carrying penalties of up to one year in jail and a $4,000 fine, FindLaw notes.
Runaways Dominate Missing Child Reports
Cases like Pierce's are far from isolated statistically. The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children reported that runaway children accounted for 92% of the 32,167 missing child cases it supported nationwide in 2025, while the organization achieved an overall 90% recovery rate across all its supported cases, per the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. In Texas specifically, 28,229 of the 40,309 total missing person reports filed in 2025 involved children under 18, according to the Texas Center for the Missing, which also notes that runaways historically comprise 80% to 85% of all missing child reports statewide.
Anyone with information on Blakely Pierce's whereabouts is urged to contact Detective Zediker or submit an anonymous tip through Hays County Crime Stoppers.
