IFN Staff
As the massive search for Gideon Ferguson continued Friday in eastern Iredell County, multiple law enforcement agencies were working together to locate the missing Iredell County teenager.
In addition to the 100 people searching on the ground, the Iredell County Sheriff’s Office and assisting agencies deployed more than a dozen drones and K-9 units in the effort. On Friday afternoon, an N.C. State Highway Patrol helicopter was also searching for signs of 14-year-old Gideon. The FBI, which has assigned agents to assist in the effort, also added Gideon to the FBI’s website, and national and Charlotte social media accounts as a missing and endangered child.
“I want to make sure we don’t leave any stone unturned,” Sheriff Darren Campbell said.
Gideon, who attends American Renaissance School in Statesville, was last seen about 3:30 p.m. Wednesday after being dropped off at his home on Watermoss Drive near Cleveland. After changing his clothes, he left home without taking his known electronic devices, including his cell phone, Campbell said.
Gideon is described as a white male with brown hair, hazel eyes and braces on his teeth. He is 5-foot-2-inches tall and weighs 110 pounds. He was believed to be wearing jeans, a gray hoodie or jacket, and Nike sneakers.
Despite the hundreds of man hours devoted to the search over the past 48 hours, authorities have not located any verifiable evidence of Gideon’s whereabouts or seen his image in any of the security videos and doorbell cameras in the neighborhood, Campbell said. No credible sightings of the teen have been reported.
Investigators returned to canvas the rural neighborhood on Friday and also began checking videos from cameras on school buses that traveled the roads near the teens home.
So far, the aerial and ground search for the missing teen has covered an area with a circumference of nearly three miles, the sheriff added.
While about 100 searchers, led by Iredell Search and Rescue personnel, have been combing the wooded area near Gideon’s home, about 30 investigators have conducted interviews, examined surveillance video, obtained search warrants for electronic devices, and taken additional steps “with one goal — to find Gideon and bring him home safely to his family,” Campbell said in a social media post.
The sheriff expressed his appreciation to all of the agencies that have helped and those that are on standby to help, if and when they are needed.
“We were very well prepared. We’ve got the technology. We’ve got the relationships (that have resulted in assistance from other agencies,” Campbell said. “We’ve brought that to bear.”
What hasn’t helped the search effort, he added, is baseless speculation on some social media platforms that are not based on any facts, the sheriff added.
“We spend a lot of time chasing down rumors. We need accurate information,” Campbell said. “Some of what is on social media is absolutely not accurate.”
If you have any information to locate Gideon Ferguson, call 911 or the Iredell County Sheriff’s Office at 704-878-3100. You can also submit a tip anonymously on the Iredell Sheriff App.