A mother from Brentwood, California, is hopeful as she continues to beg for help in the search for her son Dane Elkins, who has been missing since December 21, 2020.
The last known location of the 21-year-old UC Santa Cruz student was close to Interstate 5 and the Templin Highway in the Castaic, California area, at around 8:20 pm, where his car was found abandoned with a flat tire, according to with the Los Angeles Police Department. Dane’s wallet and cell phone were found inside the car.
Dane’s mother, Deborah Elkins, told Dateline that she spoke with her son that day. She added that in the days leading up to his disappearance, Dane was mentally distressed by the continuing pandemic of COVID-19 and that he was driving back and forth between his home in Brentwood and Santa Cruz, where he is an engineering student.
“He told me that he was not feeling well when I spoke to him on the phone and that he needed to meet,” explained Deborah. “He seemed to be collapsing and I encouraged him to go home. I was so close to taking him home, but he was gone. “
Deborah told Dateline that her son called 911 that night, but when the authorities arrived, they found her abandoned car with her wallet and cell phone still inside. One of the tires was flat and the other three were short of air, she added.
“But there was no trace of Dane,” Deborah said. “He had left it all behind – it just doesn’t make sense.”
Deborah told Dateline that Dane was living at his home in Brentwood, but he was not well because he was isolated and often left to be with his friends. He started talking about moving to an apartment or a trailer.
An engineering student at UC Santa Cruz, Dane holds 23 national championships as a racquetball player and is a black belt in Taekwondo. He also spent hours of his free time helping his mother as a volunteer to feed the homeless population in the Los Angeles area.
“He used to help me feed the homeless,” said Deborah. “Now we are looking for him among them.”
Deborah said that on her son’s comings and goings between Brentwood and Santa Cruz, she used to stop to camp in the Bakersfield area and believes he could be in that area.
Several searches for authorities and volunteers have been carried out, but so far, there has been no trace of Dane. A search in the Bakersfield area is scheduled for 10am on March 6.
Deborah describes her son as an intelligent and kind young man whom her family, including her three younger siblings, misses a lot.
“They miss their older brother,” added the mother. “It really affected all of us.”
For months, Dane’s mother used social media to contact the community for information about her whereabouts. A Facebook Searching for Dane Elkins group with more than 3,000 members and the TikTok @KindnessMom account was launched to help with the search.
“I have a wonderful support group of 3,000 people,” said Deborah. “I couldn’t do this without them … without the community that gives its time to help in our search.”
Deborah told Dateline that there have been many possible sightings of her son since his disappearance, but none of them turned out to be him. She said that anyone who believes they saw someone who might be Dane is encouraged to take a photo of the person and send it to [email protected], which will allow the family to better determine if it really can be Dane before transmitting. it together with the researchers.
While the family believes he may be somewhere between Brentwood and Santa Cruz, Deborah told Dateline that it is very possible that he is in another state.
“At the end of each day we don’t find him, I get discouraged,” said Deborah. “But the next morning, I have hope again. I just have to keep waiting for him to be found and for him to be okay. That’s what keeps me going. I’m not giving up. “
Dane is described as being 5’11 ”tall and weighing 170 pounds. He has brown hair and green eyes. His family said he can have facial hair now.
Anyone with information about their location should call the LAPD Missing Persons Unit at (213) 996-1800. During non-business hours or on weekends, calls should be directed to 1-877-LAPD-24-7 (877-527-3247). Anyone wishing to remain anonymous should call Crime Stoppers at 800-222-TIPS (800-222-8477).
