Daniel Ted Yuen was a teenage boy who vanished from the Cedu school in 2004. Two other boys, John Inman and Blake Pursley, disappeared from the school in the 1990s.
Background[]
Daniel was from Edison, New Jersey. After a break-up with his girlfriend, he was taken to multiple psychiatrists by his parents. He was enrolled at the Cedu School, a special needs boarding school, after he stopped going to high school in his sophomore year. Daniel had told his parents that he was unhappy at the Cedu School and that the other students scared him. He also told them that he was planning to run away. He had previously run away from his home in New Jersey.
Case[]
Daniel was last seen leaving the Cedu school at 10:45 a.m. on February 8, 2004. He said that he was going to buy a packet of cigarettes and did not take any personal belongings or identification with him.
Daniel's family hired a private investigator who had experience with finding missing Cedu students, who frequently ran away. There were possible sightings of Daniel in in the Hilltop Community Park in San Diego, California a month after his disappearance. Tracking dogs were taken to the park and they indicated that Daniel's scent was in the park, although he was not found there.
In December 2018, the private investigator whom the family had hired to find Daniel received an anonymous phone call. According to the caller, Daniel was "fine," still living in the area that had been searched originally, and did not want to be found. The investigator returned to the park in San Diego and asked Park employees if they recognized an age-progressed image of Daniel. One employee thought that she did. The man that she believed to be Daniel had been in the park that day with a white woman and a baby girl with him. Several more witnesses also spotted this man and the woman and baby with him.
The Cedu school went bankrupt in 2005 and closed the same year. Its financial issues were caused in large part by parents who were unhappy about how their children were treated there. This included allegations that children staying there were abused. Daniel's family was among those who filed a lawsuit.
Daniel's parents have emphasized that he is not in any trouble and that both they and the police are only interested in verifying his well-being.
Characteristics[]
- Black hair that may have contained red or blond highlights.
- Brown eyes.
- Suffered from thoughts of depression.
Gallery[]
Sources[]
- Daniel Yuen at the Charley Project
- Daniel Yuen at NamUs
- Daniel Yuen at the Doe Network
- Daniel Yuen at NCMEC