National group urges Wichita-area residents to search for missing boy
A national missing persons organization joined the search for Lucas Hernandez on Saturday, urging all residents in the Wichita area to check their property for clues that may lead to the missing 5-year-old boy.
"Since nobody has come forward to provide information on his whereabouts, he needs our help!" the Missing Pieces Network posted on Facebook Saturday afternoon.
Missing Pieces Network works to locate missing people and advocates for families of those who are missing, abducted, trafficked or murdered.
The organization wants any property owner within a 30-mile radius of Wichita to "please survey any land, wooded areas, ponds, gates, fences, outbuildings, vehicles, trailers, etc. that can be safely accessed," the post said.
Searchers should not trespass on private property. Should they find anything that looks "suspicious or out of place" - and that can include unlocked gates, tire tracks, foot prints, disturbed ground or discarded clothing - they should call Wichita police at 316-383-4661.
"Observant land owners have been immensely helpful in other missing persons cases!" the organization's Facebook post said.
Saturday marked three weeks since Lucas went missing from his home in south Wichita. His stepmother, Emily Glass, has been charged with one count of child endangerment in connection with an incident involving a 1-year-old child.
She is being held in the Sedgwick County Jail on a $50,000 bond. Glass, 26, has not been charged in connection with Lucas' disappearance.
Members of law enforcement have searched several locations for Lucas since he was reported missing by his stepmother at her house on Feb. 17. She told investigators she left him in his bedroom about 3 p.m. that day, took a shower and then a nap. When she awoke a few hours later, she told authorities, he was gone. Police said there was no evidence of an abduction, which is why an Amber Alert was not activated.
Court records have revealed anger issues and other trouble in Glass’ past, including allegations of physical assault of her own sons’ father and property damage. Lucas’ great-grandmother in a recent interview with The Eagle said that the boy once told her that Glass had kicked him and dragged him across a room. When confronted, Glass and Lucas’ father denied that he’d been abused.
Authorities have searched for Lucas in five Wichita parks – Chisholm Creek, Dr. Glen Dey, Harrison, Cottonwood and Chapin – and in the neighborhood around his home in the 600 block of South Edgemoor. The search involved more than 100 officers, dogs, horses and drones.
Police divers searched bodies of water when the search returned to Chisholm Creek.
Lucas was born Dec. 3, 2012, has brown hair and brown eyes, is about 4 feet tall and weighs about 60 pounds. He was last seen wearing black sweats, white socks and a gray shirt with a bear on it.
This story was originally published March 10, 2018 at 3:51 PM with the headline "National group urges Wichita-area residents to search for missing boy."