A Santa Maria youth went missing from his home on Dec. 26, the Santa Maria Police Department (SMPD) declared in a statement released on social media, and the boy’s distraught family has yet to receive any indication of his whereabouts or well-being.
Ivan Nunez went missing from his home during his 16th birthday party on Dec. 26 right after noon, when he went inside his home to clean his face after a family member playfully tossed a cake at him. The family believes Nunez answered a knock on the door just before he disappeared. He was nowhere to be found and unresponsive to calls the family made to his cell phone, all out of character behavior for the boy, the family told SMPD detectives.
A vigil was held at the family’s home on Sunday, Jan. 3, where his parents, Gaby and Francisco, spoke, as well as the boy’s friends; his baseball coach, Santos Bernardo; and SPMD Sgt. Eligio Lara.
There were no leads or updates in the case as of Jan. 4, SMPD Detective’s Bureau Sgt. Paul Van Meel told the Sun.
“This is one of those things where there’s nothing to indicate that criminal activity is a part of this, but with that said, we don’t know that there isn’t either,” Van Meel said. “A lot of the time, what we experience with missing juveniles, is their friends will feel an allegiance and won’t say where the missing person is or who they’re with. But keeping it quiet in a case like this, where the family is distraught, it’s really important that they get some indication that he is OK.”
Any indication of Nunez’s well-being is welcome, Van Meel said, and can be called in anonymously to the department at any time.
Ivan Nunez is 5 feet 8 inches tall with black hair and brown eyes and weighing close to 150 pounds, the SMPD’s initial report detailed. He was last seen wearing a blue hooded sweatshirt, blue jeans, and black shoes.
Anyone with information regarding Nunez’s whereabouts or well-being is advised to call the SMPD at 928-3781.
