More than 50 people, mostly concerned family members and friends of missing Lakewood teen Autumn Vargas, gathered at a candlelight vigil Wednesday night to bring attention to her disappearance and to ask for her safe return.
Autumn, who is a 14-year-old student at Green Mountain High School, was last seen on Sunday afternoon when she left home with her skateboard, her mother, Chanda Crittenden, said. Autumn was last seen wearing a blue Nirvana T-shirt, blue shorts and her skateboard.
Crittenden, speaking in a quivering voice, thanked everyone for showing up Wednesday night at Foothills Park in Lakewood. She especially thanked people who have been active spreading the word about Autumn being missing, and those who have been out and about in the downtown Denver area, and along the Colfax Avenue corridor, searching for the teen first hand.
Autumn frequents a Green Mountain neighborhood skate park, and her parents thought that was where she was headed when she left home, Crittenden said. Autumn also visits her mother at work at a neighborhood convenience store but did not stop by on Sunday when her mother was working the 3-11 p.m. shift.
After not hearing from Autumn by the time Crittenden got off work, the family called the Lakewood Police Department to file a missing person report. They also have launched their own search, printing flyers and knocking on doors in the neighborhood, Crittenden said. The family received a tip that Autumn was seen at a bus stop near Colfax Avenue and York Street in Denver.
“She’s never done this,” Crittenden said Wednesday afternoon. “She’s not street-smart. She’s a very good student and athlete. This is something unknown to her.”
For now, Lakewood police are treating the disappearance as a runaway case, said John Romero, a police department spokesman. Police are investigating tips and working with Autumn’s family and school to find her, he said.
Autumn takes medication for depression and has been without it for four days, Crittenden said. She left her cellphone behind when she left home.
The family hopes the candlelight vigil will convince Autumn to come home if she has run away. She will not be in trouble, her mother said. If Autumn is with strangers, they hope the display of community concern will convince them to bring Autumn home.
“At this point, she’s been gone 72 hours, and I don’t know what else to do,” Crittenden said.
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Wednesday night’s vigil drew adults, friends of Autumn’s, small children and pets. Some people held lit candles and talked to the group about the missing teen, describing her as a good, loving and compassionate. Others offered advice and tips on searching. One person offered to lead a group Thursday in a collective search of the 16th Street Mall, Civic Center and the Denver Skate Park just northeast of downtown. Some people cried; some hugged.
Cindy Matthews, a concerned parent and Green Mountain resident, took her twin daughters to the vigil. The girls attended school with Autumn and share their mother’s concerns about their missing friend.
“It’s scary,” Matthews said. “You never know what someone is dealing with,” why a teen takes off from home.
Some people attending said Autumn likely went downtown in pursuit of reaching out to homeless people, to help them in some way. Since she been gone for such and extended period, safety concerns have risen. There were also fears that she has become a victim of foul play.
“What a light and joy she is. She is very loved,” Crittenden said. “She is in danger now, missing for four days. This is a battle I could not have fought on my own. Thank you for your help.”
The vigil, which lasted about an hour, included a moment of silence and of prayer. Some in the crowd offered encouragement that the situation will end soon and on a positive note, with Autumn safe, returning home unharmed.
