A 16-year-old girl who was signed out of her Pennsylvania school 10 times by a 45-year-old man in the last few months before the two went missing was able to do so because the teen had listed him as her stepfather, according to police.
Allentown police issued a missing person alert Wednesday for Kevin Esterly and 16-year-oold Amy Yu after Yu went missing on Monday.
Police also issued a warrant for Esterly's arrest alleging interference with the custody of a child.
Esterly signed Yu out of school without her parents’ permission 10 times between November and February, according to court documents obtained by The Morning Call.
Yu reportedly had altered her student records to list Esterly as her stepfather, according to Gary Hammer of the Colonial Regional Police.
On Feb. 9, Yu’s mother, Miu Luu, went to the school to pick up her daughter and was told that she left her “stepfather,” reports said.
Yu’s mother then told the school that she's a single mother and school workers called police, Hammer said.
On Monday, Yu’s mother reported the teen as a runaway after she had previously dropped her at the bus stop with her younger brother. Her brother reportedly said she took off.
Stacey Esterly, Esterly's wife, told police she last saw her husband at 6:05 a.m. Monday.
His personal documents were no longer in their home and $4,000 had been withdrawn from Stacey Esterly’s bank account, she reportedly told cops.
Yu's mother, Mul Luu, said she came home and discovered Amy's passport missing along with cash, the New York Daily News reported.
Yu’s younger brother and mother told WFMZ-TV that the two families met at church years ago and Amy is friends with one of Esterly's daughters.
Luu told the station before her daughter’s disappearance she had discovered text messages on her phone with Esterly that sounded like they were in a romantic relationship.
Investigators said Yu and Esterly may be traveling together in a 1999 red Honda Accord, with a Pennsylvania license plate KLT 0529.
Yu is 4 foot, 11 inches and weighs about 90 pounds.
Esterly stands at 5 feet, 9 inches and weighs 185 pounds.
Anyone with information about the pair is asked to call 911, or the Allentown Police Communications Center at 610-437-7751.
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