ROCKFORD, Mich. — "Cortez McConer Jr, aged 16, is still missing" starts a Nov. 18 announcement from the Grand Rapids Police Department (GRPD). The next day, on Nov. 19, they announced a search area they would begin to focus their efforts on.
Crews with GRPD, the Kent County Sheriff’s Office and Michigan State Police (MSP) spread out across a portion of Rockford Friday morning, roughly 25 people in all.
“I am fearful and want to be realistic too, which is why we have assets that we do out here today. It's a very large geographic area that we're searching and, like I said, I want to find answers,” GRPD Chief Eric Winstrom told media Friday.
“I’m not going to say I'm hopeful that we find Cortez today. I'm hopeful that Cortez sees this and reaches out and lets us know he's okay.”
McConer was last seen by his family in late October, considered a runaway by Grand Rapids Police until Nov. 2.
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It wasn’t the last confirmed sighting of the teenager though; GRPD says that Cortez was seen running from officers near the McDonald's on East Division, west of Courtland Drive NE and Kies Street NE in Rockford on the evening of Oct. 28.
A friend of Cortez was arrested that night, though Cortez hasn’t surfaced.
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“We've been checking social media, obviously, with his family and his friends; the communication just isn't there,” Chief Winstrom explained Friday.
Their search Friday began near 10 Mile Road, west of Wolverine Drive. Crews slowly worked their way south to Kroes.
“I think there's a good chance that he's in this area here,” Chief Winstrom said. “If you're not used to the area, there's a lot of dense wooded area up here. There's a lot of wetlands up here. It can be a dangerous place.”
Crews were utilizing drones and search and rescue dogs.
They will be going door-to-door in neighborhoods, and scouring areas in hopes of finding McConer or a clue to his location.
“One of the things that's been very helpful is the K9s that we use; we make sure that their handlers are equipped with GPS, so we've been able to track exactly where the dogs have already been,” Chief Winstrom said.
“It’s almost like in the old days, the grid searches that we used to do, with marking it out. We do that with technology now.”
Investigators have said repeatedly they worry Cortez is hiding out of fear that he is in legal trouble.
“The information that we had early on was that Cortez was running from the police… 16 years old, this is not a serious crime. He was the occupant of a stolen car,” Winstrom explained Friday.
“Kids make mistakes all the time. We all made mistakes when we were 16 years old, and in no shape or form are we interested whatsoever in holding Cortez any criminal accountability. We just want to make sure that Cortez is safe.”
Chief Winstrom said Friday that investigators have been making some headway behind the scenes as well.
“Sometimes getting results back from things like financial transactions, social media, it takes a while,” he explained. “At this point in time, we have search warrants out for phone, for financial transactions, for social media, and everything that we've seen so far is negative. There's nothing to show that he's had activity of any of the sorts.”
Investigators don’t believe the 16-year-old had much cash on him, nor a credit or debit card, when he disappeared.
The boy’s family has also organized multiple search efforts over the past few weeks.
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Relatives searching in Rockford for missing GR teen
"Babe, come home. We miss you so much," Cortez's mother, Kisha Haggerty, said in an earlier interview with FOX 17. “I promise I won't be upset. Just come home. We miss you. We miss you so bad. Please come home to us. Please, please, please.”
If you have any information about where Cortez McConer might be, please call GRPD detectives by calling (616) 456-3380 or submit information anonymously via Silent Observer at (616) 774-2345.
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