New Jersey

New Jersey Teen Missing For 2 Weeks, Sighted at Train Stations, Found Safe

Thomas Kolding, 15, left his family’s home in Mountain Lakes the day before Halloween, prosecutors said

What to Know

  • Thomas Kolding, 15, has been located safe after apparently running away the day before Halloween
  • Kolding took a train to New York's Penn Station, and was spotted at a train station in New Jersey on Nov. 3, prosecutors say
  • He may also have been sighted in Ohio before he was found, prosecutors say

The missing New Jersey teen who was spotted at New York's Penn Station and possibly in Ohio in the last two weeks has been found safe, authorities say.

Thomas Kolding, 15, of Mountain Lakes, was located safe Tuesday after he left his home on Oct. 30, according to Morris County Prosecutor's Office.

Police in Miami Township in Ohio said over the weekend it received several reports from people who believe they may have spotted the teen in the area, the department said on Facebook. 

The Morris County Prosecutor's Office wouldn't confirm Tuesday whether Kolding was picked up in Ohio, but it thanked the Miami, Ohio police department for their help in the investigation, along with the Camden, Philadelphia and Delaware police departments, as well as New Jersey Transit Police, Amtrak Police and New Jersey State Police. 

Prosecutors also acknowledged the transportation agencies that assisted in the coordination of a multi-state search for Kolding. 

Kolding, an honors student, left home with around $1,000 after "an argument with his father about his grades," according to NorthJersey.com. He left behind his cellphone and other electronics, as well as notes for his family and a friend, but his parents haven't shared the contents of the notes. 

Prosecutors say he traveled to Newark before heading to Penn Station. He was last spotted at the Walter Rand Train Station in Camden, New Jersey on Nov. 3. 

Kolding's father, Nicolai Kolding, posted a video to Facebook last Friday showing himself retracing the steps his son took on Nov. 3.

"Thomas: please forgive me if this video embarrasses. It does me. Just please come home," Nicolai Kolding wrote. 

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