In 2013, This Young Man From California Disappeared While Visiting Friends In San Francisco
In 2013, 20-year-old Crishtian Hughes lived in San Diego, California, and worked at a local Taco Bell.
He also had no history of fleeing and was regarded as mentally stable. That’s why Crishtian’s loved ones were alarmed after he strangely disappeared in February of that year.
It all began on February 4, 2013, when Crishtian’s mother, Kim Nepote, dropped him off at the San Diego International Airport. Her son was planning to take a flight to visit some of his friends in San Francisco, California.
After Crishtian’s flight landed, he reportedly called his mother to check-in.
“I spoke to him briefly, and he assured me he had arrived safe and would be returning home Thursday, February 7, around 2:30 p.m.,” Kim recalled.
“We said we loved each other and said our goodbyes and hung up. I haven’t talked to or seen him since.”
On February 5, Crishtian reportedly visited his aunt in San Francisco, who provided him with $70 in cash. Then, the following day, February 6, he grabbed some lunch with a female friend.
Crishtian was last seen at his friend’s home at about 12:30 a.m. that evening. Then, on Thursday, February 7, Crishtian’s friends woke up at approximately 10:00 a.m. However, he was nowhere to be found.
Crishtian’s mother, Kim, was expecting her son to come home that day. So, once she had not heard from Crishtian by Friday, she reached out to her sister– Crishtian’s aunt– in San Francisco.
Oleg Podzorov – stock.adobe.com- illustrative purposes only
Kim’s sister, Chelsea Denton, detailed how she had not seen Crishtian since Tuesday– when he was given $70.
“I spent most of the day trying to get phone numbers to locate my son’s friends who he had been with. It was a failure,” she said.
Later that afternoon, though, Kim received a knock on her front door and was greeted by officers from the San Diego Police Department.
Authorities inquired about if Crishtian had made it home. And upon telling the officers no, Kim immediately knew something was very wrong.
It turned out that one of her son’s friends had called the police in San Francisco, concerned about whether or not Crishtian had arrived home safely.
The friend was prompted to contact authorities because, apparently, Crishtian had packed up all of his things and left his friend’s house in the middle of the night prior to his flight back to San Diego.
And for Kim, the largest question she has is why her son would do that.
“Why would he get up in the middle of the night in a city with no car when his friends were at home and were his ride to the airport?” she wondered.
Kim then decided to contact the airline that her son was supposed to fly home with to see if Crishtian had made it on his flight. However, the airline would not release that information to Kim.
At that point, she became extremely worried and turned to her son’s phone records– hoping to find a number to contact him. Although, the records revealed nothing, and Crishtian’s last text message had been sent at 1:18 a.m. on Wednesday evening.
“And then no activity whatsoever,” Kim said, “It’s like he has just disappeared into thin air.”
Crishtian was then reported missing on February 8, 2013, but he has never been heard from or seen again.
In a 2013 Fundrazr campaign launched to help raise money for Crishtian’s loved ones, Kim also claimed that investigators were not helpful.
Upon reporting her son missing, Kim recalled how she was “shuffled off” to the Missing Person’s Department– which was not open on the weekends.
Since her son was 20 years old and there was no suspected foul play, Kim also claimed that investigators “basically wouldn’t look for him.”
“How do we know if there isn’t foul play unless you look for him? The timeline and the story these kids are telling the authorities just don’t add up to my son’s phone records,” Kim wrote.
Still, Crishtian has remained missing, and his loved ones have continued searching for answers.
On April 17, 2014, there was a possible sighting of Crishtian on Haight Street in San Francisco. The spotted man was reportedly with a blonde woman and had visible tattoos as well as long, curly hair. However, this sighting has not been confirmed.
Crishtian’s case is also one of the Missing California 5– a group of five young men who vanished from San Francisco during the early 2010s.
Each of these five young men was last seen in San Francisco sometime between 2010 and 2013, raising questions about whether foul play was involved.
But, investigators have never uncovered any evidence or motive for foul play in Crishtian’s case. So, the circumstances surrounding his disappearance have remained unclear, and he is still missing.
“Please help me find my son. He is my absolute everything in life, and I know my son. He wouldn’t take off or run away like these people are assuming,” Kim pleaded.
At the time of Crishtian’s disappearance, he was five foot seven, weighed 150 pounds, and had blonde hair and brown eyes. He was last seen wearing a black sweatshirt and blue jeans. Crishtian also had a scar down his spine and a tattoo of playing cards on his wrist.
If you have any information regarding Crishtian’s case, you are urged to contact the San Francisco Police Department at (415) 553-1071.
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