The desperate search continued Monday for a pair of teens who haven't been seen or heard from in days, after they vanished from home with cash but without their cellphones, according to one of their parents.
Police say that Vinny Abolfia was last seen in Ronkonkoma boarding a New York City-bound Long Island Rail Road train with his girlfriend, Kaileigh Catalano, just before 6 p.m. on Dec. 9. Since then, nobody has been able to locate the pair, but Vinny's mother and her husband were walking the streets of Manhattan for a fourth night on Monday after a possible sighting of the teens in Times Square.
"Home is not the same without him. I go in his bedroom and cry," said Ann Bonasia. "I wonder where he is, I wonder what he is thinking."
Vinny and Kaileigh, both 15 years old, left home in Manorville without about $1,000 in cash, but without their cellphones, said Bonasia. The worried mother said that the teens have since changed their appearances to avoid being recognized.
Get Tri-state area news and weather forecasts to your inbox. Sign up for NBC New York newsletters.
"We got a tip that (Kaileigh) took the 5:57 train out of Ronkonkoma and she was in the laundromat section of the train station dying her hair, buying pillows and blankets to prepare for this," Bonasia said.
Bonasia believes her son and Kaileigh might have been inspired by TikTok, where dozens of videos on the platform can be found under the hashtag "running away" or "running away from home." The videos feature everything from instructions on what to bring to how to avoid being tracked down.
"If you have multiple friends' houses you can stay at, try not to stay in one place too long. hop between the few that you have because it's illegal to harbor a runaway," one video says.
News
Bonasia said that it is "concerning" what kind of impact the videos can have on easily impressionable kids.
"These kids are finding it as role models, as there were videos she was following of some girl in New York City that ran away — and does she do?" Bonasia said.
Tips from the Citizen App have helped so far, but the parents are still in the midst of a desperate search through the busiest time in the city.
"Just hoping that some lead, some share with the right person at the right time will lead us to bring my son and his girlfriend home safe," said Bonasia.
The family believes Kaileigh may now have dyed black hair, and Vincent may have also dyed his hair darker or shaved his head. Anyone with information regarding the two is urged to contact police.
