Allentown police: Man got girl out of school 10 times; now both missing
ALLENTOWN, Pa. (WPVI) -- New information has been released in the continued search for a 45-year-old man and a 16-year-old girl from Allentown, Pennsylvania.
Allentown police issued a missing person alert Wednesday for Kevin Esterly and Amy Yu. A warrant for Esterly's arrest for interference with the custody of a child also was issued Wednesday, according to the Allentown Morning Call.
Police now say the two met at church, and that she was friends with his oldest daughter.
Amy's mother called police on Feb. 9 to report Esterly had signed her child out of Lehigh Valley Academy earlier that day without permission, according to court documents obtained by the newspaper.
The mother called police again on Feb. 15, and officers arrived to tell Esterly and his wife, Stacey, to stay away from the family's home. It wasn't clear in the court records why the couple were there.
Police interviewed the teen a few days later, and she told them Esterly had signed her out of school about five times. However, investigators checked the Bethlehem charter school's records and found Esterly signed Amy out of school 10 times between Nov. 13 and Feb. 9 without her parents' permission.
According to police, Amy altered her school records and put Esterly down as her stepfather, allowing him to sign her out of school.
Lehigh Valley Academy released the following statement:
"We can confirm that Mr. Esterly was last present on school grounds on February 9, 2018. After that date, due to circumstances we cannot disclose pursuant to student privacy constraints, he was prohibited from entering school grounds, and the police were to be notified if he returned. Due to federal and state privacy constraints, the school is prohibited from releasing any additional information about the student or the facts and circumstances surrounding the situation unless the parent provides express consent for the school to do so. We are, however, working closely with the Colonial Regional Police and the Allentown Police and are providing whatever information and assistance we can to assist them and Amy's family during this difficult time."
Lehigh Valley Academy is an authorized International Baccalaureate school that is "committed to developing young people into active, knowledgeable and caring members of a world-wide, diverse society," according to its website.
On Monday, Amy's mother reported her as a runaway. Police contacted Stacey Esterly, who told them she last saw her husband at 6 a.m. that day and that he'd taken personal documents and withdrawn $4,000 from her account. No phone number could be found for the Esterlys.
Police say Amy and Kevin Esterly, who works as a concrete contractor, had a "secretive relationship." They were last seen Monday near Amy's parent's home in Allentown and might be in Esterly's 1999 red Honda Accord.
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Information from The Associated Press was used in this post.
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