A high school senior has been missing since a truck was found submerged in water in Lake Station, Ind., on Monday, March 23
The 18-year-old boy asked a friend for a ride, but never came home
“We just, we just want to know where he’s at,” said the missing teen’s brother
A high school senior from Indiana told his family he was riding home with a friend. After a truck was found overturned in a river, officials and family members are urgently searching for the missing teen.
On Monday, March 23, at approximately 4:20 a.m. local time, officers responded to 27th Avenue and Wyoming Street following a report that a vehicle was found overturned in the Deep River in Lake Station, the Lake Station Police Department said in a statement.
Officials said the department and other agencies launched a search for “a male subject believed to have been inside the vehicle,” later identified as 18-year-old Rodrigo “Rico” Montes.
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A truck was found submerged in a body of water in Lake Station, Ind.Hobart Fire Department Facebook
“This was a large, coordinated effort involving multiple agencies working together under challenging conditions,” the Hobart Fire Department, a responding agency, said in a statement on Monday.
The Lake Station Police Department and the Hobart Fire Department did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s requests for additional information.
As of Wednesday, March 25, the River Forest High School senior remains missing, The Chicago Tribune, CW affiliate WGN and NBC affiliate WMAQ reported.
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The teen was last seen at a gathering on the night of Sunday, March 22, his family told ABC affiliate WLS.
“All we know is he was at a cookout. He was going to go home, and he never made it back,” Montes’ brother, Adolfo Montes, told the outlet.
Just hours later, the truck was found in the river.
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First responders in Indiana have been searching for the missing teen for days.Hobart Fire Department Facebook
The teen’s brother, Saul Montes, told WLS that the most difficult part of the situation is not knowing Rico’s location.
“He could be anywhere. He could be walking somewhere. He could be in the water. He could be out unconscious,” Saul told the outlet. “We just, we just want to know where he’s at.”
On Tuesday, police helicopters continued to search from the air as canines searched along the riverside, The Chicago Tribune reported.
Rico is described as Latino, with brown hair and brown eyes. He is 5 feet, 7 inches tall, and weighs 150 pounds. The teen was last seen wearing white and gold shoes, a red hoodie and black jeans, the outlet reported.
Anyone with information about his disappearance is asked to contact the Lake Station Police Department by emailing [email protected].
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