CRYSTAL LAKE – A missing Crystal Lake teen has been found safe in Wendover, Utah.
Seventeen-year-old Trenton Johnson, who has a form of autism called Asperger's syndrome, left his home Tuesday after getting into a disagreement with his parents. He was seen in Nokomis, Ill., about an hour south of Springfield, Wednesday afternoon.
About 8:39 p.m. Thursday, Crystal Lake police were notified that he had been found, said Commander Dan Dziewior of the Crystal Lake Police Department.
A Tooele County (Utah) Sheriff's Office deputy ran the plates of the car Johnson had been driving, which was his parents' 2002 Honda Accord.
"The vehicle's description and plates had been entered in a nationwide database and it was observed that he was listed as a missing and endangered youth from Illinois," Dziewior said.
The deputy then performed a traffic stop and Johnson was taken into protective custody. He is being housed in a juvenile detention facility until his parents arrive to pick him up, Dziewior said.
Why Johnson went to Utah is unclear.
"Not sure what the attraction is there; it's near Salt Lake City," Dziewior said. "I'm sure Investigations will look further into what the draw was to that area, but at this time I don't think those details are known yet."
