The grief-stricken family of a missing Melbourne teenager are shocked to learn he has been sighted at emergency accommodation in Sydney, saying he had no connection to the city and had never been there before.
Krishank Karthik’s mother, Shobana, said her life has been a ‘living hell’ since her son vanished four days ago and that she desperately needed to hear from him to ensure he was safe.
She said she was stunned to find out he had reportedly sold his iPhone, worth more than $1000, in Melbourne before heading interstate and that she was not aware of any problems the 16-year-old could be running from.
‘I wish we had any answers to explain any of this. We are so worried about him,’ she told Daily Mail .
‘We have no idea why he would be in Sydney. He doesn’t know anyone there and he has never been there before.’
Karthik disappeared after leaving his Truganina home in Melbourne’s west about 7:30am on Monday, carrying spare clothes, a backpack, and a suitcase.
His family believed that the Year 11 Suzanne Cory student was making his way to school, but he never arrived.
They have since discovered that Krishank has not been attending classes for the past two weeks and was instead logged into the school’s parent portal to mark himself as absent each day.
A teenager who has been missing for four days has reportedly attended emergency accommodation interstate. Krishank ‘Krish’ Karthik, 16, was last seen leaving his Truganina home in Melbourne’s west on Monday carrying spare clothes, a backpack and a suitcase about 7.30am
Krishank was last seen leaving his Truganina home in Melbourne’s west on Monday carrying spare clothes, a backpack and a suitcase about 7.30am. Picture: Facebook
Police now believe the teenager is in NSW, after receiving information the missing teen had attended an emergency accommodation building in Cleveland Street, Surry Hills, on August 6 just before 5am.
It comes after he was reportedly spotted on a train from Tarneit station to Melbourne central on Monday morning, where he purchased two doughnuts and withdrew money from a 7-Eleven about 10.50am.
About an hour later, he travelled to North Melbourne, where he purchased food.
At 1pm, the owner of a phone store on Swanston St recognised Krishank after seeing a social media appeal for his whereabouts.
The owner claimed the missing student had sold his iPhone 14 pro that afternoon.
The night before he vanished, Krishnak texted his mum, asking when she would be home from the hospital, where she was visiting her sick mother.
When she got home, she felt too tired to eat, but Krishnak convinced her to have dinner. They watched cricket together and were ‘laughing and talking’.
Krishnak wanted to stay up late, but his mum said he should go to bed as he had an exam the next day.
That was when he said to her, ‘Goodnight mum. Love you, mum.’
That was the last time she saw him.
‘He didn’t wake me up in the morning because he knew I was tired,’ Ms Karthik said.
Police hold concerns for Krishank’s welfare as his behaviour is ‘out of character’.
He is Indian in appearance, about 170cm tall with a medium build and black hair.
He was last seen wearing a red T-shirt with a Suzanne Corry logo, black track pants sports uniform, with black shoes and a grey hoodie.
Anyone who has any information should call Crime Stoppers.