Fayetteville police need help finding missing boy last seen years ago
Fayetteville police need the public’s help to solve a bizarre missing person’s case.
Police say now 17-year-old Blake Deven hasn’t been seen in years.
The last known photo of Blake was in about 2012, which is when he was in elementary school.
Fayetteville police provided an age-processed photo of what he may look like. The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children created the age-processed photo.
“It’s an estimation really designed to spark recognition of that missing child,” said Leemie Kahng-Sofer, a program manager within the Missing Children Division of the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC).
Fayetteville police did not say how long Blake has been missing. The Missing Children Database states Blake has been missing since 2022.
Police said they were conducting interviews Wednesday in a separate investigation, and several members of the boy’s family mentioned they hadn’t seen Blake in years.
On Wednesday, the Fayetteville Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation searched three locations in Fayetteville as part of the expanding investigation to find Blake.
Anyone who knows Blake or may have seen him is asked to call the police at 910-578-2697.
Private investigator shares why missing children cases can be hard to solve
Private investigator Joshua Freeman, who is not affiliated with the investigation to find Blake, said there could be new obstacles given the timeline.
“The more time that passes, you worry about evidence going stale, evidence going missing, you have to worry about witnesses that might not have recalled certain events that surrounded that timeframe,” Freeman said.
Freeman said he was struck by the circumstances of the case.
“It’s very disheartening when you hear that a missing child is in danger or missing,” Freeman said. “That’s a cause for concern.
Freeman said he hopes authorities can find Blake.
“I just pray for the kid that he returns safely and that he’s ok,” Freeman said.
