Detectives searching for missing 13-year-old Lake Stevens boy

Published 2:01 pm Friday, October 24, 2008

LAKE STEVENS – Police are looking for a Lake Stevens boy who ran away nearly two weeks ago and may be headed into the wilderness or hopping rail cars.

Nicholas A. Clark, 13, is trained in survival, has a passion for the outdoors and has talked about wanting to travel across the U.S. on foot or possibly by riding the rails, Snohomish County sheriff’s spokeswoman Rebecca Hover said.

On Oct. 13, he left a note for his mother saying he would get in touch with her in a couple of months once he reached his destination, Hover said.

“He didn’t say where that was,” she said. “Right now, it’s a guessing game.”

The sheriff’s office usually doesn’t ask for help in finding runaway teens, Hover said. But Nicholas isn’t a typical disgruntled teen upset with his parents.

“Detectives believe he thinks he’s on the adventure of a lifetime,” she said.

They’re concerned, the teenager has overestimated his survival skills, and officials are worried he might not have enough warm clothes or food. They’re also worried he might run into people who will harm him instead of help him, Hover said.

Nicholas may have been upset about the prospect of starting public school. He’d been home schooled his entire life and was scheduled to start attending classes outside the home the day he ran away.

The boy is described as white, 5 feet 5 inches tall, weighing 120 pounds with brown hair and brown eyes. He was last seen wearing green pants and a blue turtleneck sweater.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office tip line at 425-388-3845 or 911.