Denison teen disappears after prom

[kepdawg]

Denison teen disappears after prom

05:49 PM CDT on Tuesday, April 17, 2007

From Staff Reports

Denison police were searching for a high school student who disappeared after attending his school prom.

Sean Fryar, 17, was last seen with friends at a home in the 2600 block of Brookhaven Circle about 2 a.m. Sunday, said Denison police Lt. Mike Eppler. He had attended the Denison High School prom earlier in the evening.

Sean told his friends he was going to walk around nearby Waterloo Lake, Lt. Eppler said. His friends discouraged him from leaving, but he walked out the door, Lt. Eppler said.

Sean’s parents reported him missing Sunday afternoon. A search began later that day. Alcohol was probably a factor in the disappearance, Lt. Eppler said Tuesday.

Sean is described as being 5 feet, 11 inches tall and weighing about 190 pounds. He has brown hair and was last seen wearing a white T-shirt, dark green shorts, tuxedo socks and brown tennis shoes and a black baseball cap, Lt. Eppler said.

Anyone with information was asked to call police at 903-465-2422.


http://www.heralddemocrat.com/content/articles/2007/04/17/local_news/news07.jpg

[mustang59]

Any update on this boy?

[Hansum Stranger]

DENISON -- Authorities and volunteers continue the search for Sean Fryer, the missing Denison teenager who has not been seen since after the prom Saturday night.

Police and family say he hasn't been seen or heard from since two o’clock Sunday morning after the Denison High School prom Saturday night.

Family members say Sean Fryar, 17, was with three other teens at a home on Bennington Court right by Waterloo Lake when he decided to go for a walk.

He hasn't contacted anyone since.

KXII has followed this story from Waterloo Lake in Denison throughout the week, where police officers continue to search.

On Monday, a search helicopter with Denison police and Fryar's classmates searched the trails around the lake in hope of finding any clues on the whereabouts of the Denison high school football player.

Crews in the helicopter say they did not find anything on their fly-over, which is a good sign for those close to Fryar.

Many others from the community have gathered by the lake to help in the search effort.

A search group from Dallas joined the search for Fryar Monday, along with canines, a DPS helicopter and other law enforcement.

As the search grows, so do concerns among family and friends.

Johnny Allen is a family friend who says the family kept quiet about Sean’s disappearance until today, waiting to see if he would return.

"They’re worried… (they'd) like for him to come on home."

Denison police officers, detectives and the state game warden are searching for the teen at friend's homes in this area, wooded areas near the lake, and the lake itself.

Lt. Mike Eppler of the Denison Police Department says they are checking every possible place he could be.

"Right now we're not going to rule anything out. We’re going to check every possible avenue."

Friends say Sean is a high school athlete, and he's active in his church, so the news of his disappearance has sent a shockwave throughout the community.

The Denison High School principal and counselor are out here waiting along with the family.

The school will be taking action as needed to talk to students upset about Sean’s disappearance.

Police say they received a few new tips on Tuesday and now plan to re-interview Sean's friend.

They also say police dogs picked up Sean's scent on Monday near a home outside of the search area, but found nothing further.

So far, police say there is no sign of foul play

[kaorder1999]

unbelievable...i hope he is found ok...

[Adidas410s]

have they searched the lake?

[LH Panther Mom]

Originally posted by Adidas410s
have they searched the lake? I've been wondering that, too.

[Hansum Stranger]

Originally posted by Adidas410s
have they searched the lake?



Originally posted by Hansum Stranger
Denison police officers, detectives and the state game warden are searching for the teen at friend's homes in this area, wooded areas near the lake, and the lake itself.

[kaorder1999]

goodness Adidas...if you would just read!

[LH Panther Mom]

Originally posted by kaorder1999
goodness Adidas...if you would just read! I read that part....I was wondering if they had dragged it or just walked/searched the edges?

[Adidas410s]

Originally posted by LH Panther Mom
I read that part....I was wondering if they had dragged it or just walked/searched the edges?

That's what I was wondering...or if they had sent in a diver or anything...

[44INAROW]

what a nightmare for the parents..... I hope he is found safe somewhere and he has a heck of a story to tell..........

[kepdawg]

Here's the article from yesterday's Denison paper.

Search for Denison teenager continues By Mary Jane Farmer
Herald Democrat
Friends, family, church members, teachers, coaches and football players, and even strangers worked with Denison police Monday in search of missing teenager Sean Isaac Fryar. As sun set over Waterloo Lake, there was still no sign of the Denison High School junior, missing since about 2 a.m. Sunday.

Sean, 17, had been to Denison High School’s senior prom Saturday night. Afterward, he gathered with friends at a house near Waterloo Lake. About 2 a.m., he told friends he was going for a walk around the lake. That was the last time anybody has seen or heard from the popular young athlete and active church member. Sean’s sister, Amanda Davis, said he was last seen wearing a white T-shirt with “DC” on its left chest, green shorts, black tuxedo socks left over from his prom attire, brown and white tennis shoes, and a new “White Sox” cap, black with a white pin stripe and a new style with a flat bill. She described him as being 6-feet tall, weighing about 220 pounds, with brown hair and blue eyes. She said he had carefully groomed his short beard especially for the prom. He is the son of Linda Fryar.

She added that she and her younger brother lost their father a few years ago, during his teen years, and that Sean hadn’t quite recovered from that. Then, in mid-February, one of his best friends, Joshua Glen Holder, also 17, died in a single-car wreck outside Whitewright. That death added to Sean’s despondency, Davis said.

Denison Police Lt. Mike Eppler said officer Jeremy Monroe’s report timed the family’s notification to police at 1 p.m. Sunday. Davis said the family began a search around the lake, helped by friends and Denison High School coaches and athletes, plus members of their church, St. Luke’s Episcopal. Denison police began searching Monday morning. As they received more information about Sean and became more concerned about his despondency, they beefed up efforts until dark closed them down.

Bicycle patrol officers stayed on trails and roadways. Denison patrol officers continually went by not only the Fryar home but the homes of each of his friends, making inquiries if they saw a pair of tennis shoes on a porch that hadn’t been there before. A pizza delivery man spotted adult-size footprints in a creek and took that information to Eppler, who had it checked out. Lake neighbors suggested searching through alleyways.

Before noon, Texas Parks & Wildlife had brought up a boat equipped with sonar. Helped by Denison P.D. officers-divers Robby Carney and Jeffery Bellows, they covered the entirety of Waterloo Lake with negative results. Next, a Texas Department of Public Safety helicopter out of the Dallas area flew over the area, using thermal imagers and spotlights to search the more wooded areas. Again, negative results. Some spectators said they were told the thermal imager could see four feet beneath the lake water surface. Eppler said they were reasonably certain Sean was not in the water.

As Monday afternoon wore on, Eppler and everyone waited for the arrival of a volunteer search and rescue group out of Dallas that had bloodhounds available. The group arrived as the sun set and began searching about 9 p.m. By press time, it proved as unfruitful as the others.

Van Alstyne Fire Chief Mario Moreno offered his department’s hand-held thermal imager, an offer Eppler was glad to accept.

Throughout the day, family and friends repeated their belief that Sean would not have just disappeared because of his mother. Davis said she and Sean are best friends, and she knows how much he respects their mother, not wanting to worry her.

“Sean would have contacted someone,” Davis said with the certainty of knowing a loved one. She added that he didn’t have a cell phone with him because his had recently broken.

When school let out, teenagers began arriving in groups of threes and fours and set out around the lake to add their help to the search. Then, when 5 p.m. came and went, adults, mostly parents getting off work, came to help, some saying they didn’t know Sean but could feel only sympathy for his mother or would want the help if it were one of their own children. Others were with agencies in other counties, but familiar with search and rescue techniques. Media rushed to get Sean’s picture and description on their Web sites, and at least one radio station asked for volunteers to add their efforts.

Eppler said a reasonable estimate of actual searchers through the day would be about 200 people. New Beginnings Church and Albertson’s Grocery brought food and drinks to the crowd by the lake, then the American Red Cross came with its cantina.

Through it all, Eppler stressed that there was no indication of foul play.

With the sunset and the waiting, the mood on the Waterloo Lake hillside became more somber and more quiet, with only the delightful squeals of small, playing children breaking the buzz of whispered conversations. Feelings mixed together, stirred in a pot like a stew. Physical and mental fatigue, despair, bewilderment ... and hope.

Eppler said the search will resume about 9 a.m. Tuesday, with staging still at Waterloo Lake, and those wanting to help need just show up and present themselves. In the meantime, he asked that Sean or anyone knowing where he might be call his family or the Denison police at 903-465-2422.

[eagles72]

I just read where they found the body of the missing teen in Denison. They haven't mentioned the cause of death yet. They did find him at the the lake.

[pirate4state]

:( How sad.

[Angeleyes]

Originally posted by eagles72
I just read where they found the body of the missing teen in Denison. They haven't mentioned the cause of death yet. They did find him at the the lake.

That's horrible:(

[kepdawg]

Crap, crap, crap, crap, crap, crap, crap!!!

I just got home and had a message from a friend informing me of the bad news.

Please keep Sean's family and friends in your prayers!