Crime & Safety

Family Fights to Bring Missing Son Home

Mike Glenn doesn't think his son, Woodson High senior Bryan Glenn, ran away.

The Glenns didn't realize something might be wrong until Monday night.

Their oldest son didn't come home right after football practice at Woodson High School that day, but that wasn't so unusual. Sometimes Bryan crossed Main Street to grab a bite at McDonald's, or stayed to chat with his friends. 

When Bryan, 17, still hadn't returned 45 minutes after practice, his father, Mike, hopped into his car and drove out to his son's usual hangouts. No luck. His other son, Marty, reached out to teammates and heard something a bit more disturbing. No one had seen Bryan at practice.

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In fact, no one saw Bryan in school at all that day.

Mike and his wife filed a police report. Fairfax City Police called them at 3 a.m. The car Bryan had been driving was found at Thaiss Park.

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"We rushed right out there and found a perfectly parked car. It was locked. There was no sign of a struggle," Mike said. "I was glad to hear something about him."

It's six days later and there's still no sign of Bryan, or where he might have gone. Mike and his family are running ragged, doing everything they know to track down their son.

"It's frustrating," Mike said. "The first day he was gone we had no knowledge of it. On day two, I had it in my head that he's a 17-year-old teenager who screwed up. He could be out there playing hooky."

Marty rallied the students at Woodson, posting fliers and getting the word out. The Glenns spoke to media outlets, hoping that somewhere, someone who knew something would hear their message and bring their son home.

"Our weapon of choice is getting the word out to the individual who can connect the dots," Mike said.

He set up an operations center in the family's kitchen. They work with neighbors to spread the word and monitor Bryan's bank account. Mike hopes that Bryan's iTouch will find a signal and direct them to his location via the FindMyPhone app.

They don't buy the "endangered runaway" label the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children gave Bryan. Too many things aren't matching up to the story their son just "ran away."

"Runaway is counter to our intuition. I'd love to be wrong ... but I need to continue to assume that he's being held against his will somewhere or something is wrong," Mike said. "If I'm wrong, prove it. If I'm right and we haven't looked at these scenarios, I'd never forgive myself."

Glenn family and friends will hold a vigil for Bryan after the Woodson-T.C. Williams football game at Woodson High School. The homecoming football game starts at 1:30 p.m. Saturday.

Want to get involved? Print out a copy of Bryan's flier and pass it out. Join the Facebook group and use #findbryan in your Tweets.

But most importantly, call police if you have any information about Bryan's disappearance. Call Crime Solvers 1-866-411-TIPS/8477, e-mail at www.fairfaxcrimesolvers.org or text “TIP187” plus your message to CRIMES/274637. You can also call Fairfax County Police at 703-691-2131.

Related Stories:

Woodson Senior Missing Since Monday
Thaiss Park Closed While Police Search for Bryan Glenn
Friends of Missing Teen Say 'Bryan Did Not Just Walk Away'


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