Disturbing Details About The Man Who Checked A 16-Year-Old Girl Out Of School And Ran Away With Her After Police Learned They Were In An Illegal Relationship
Kevin Esterly had been warned by police to stay away from Amy Yu.
Allentown Police Department Police are searching for a Pennsylvania teen who went missing after a 45-year-old man checked her out of school.
According to NBC, Kevin Esterly illegally signed out 16-year-old Amy Yu on Monday from Leigh Valley Academy Charter School. An arrest warrant shows that he had checked her out at least 10 times between Nov. 13 to Feb. 9.
All without her mother's consent.
According to police, Esterly was able to take Yu out of school because she had changed school documents to list him as her stepdad.
Police had already warned Esterly to stay away from Amy, and court records indicated that they had been in an illegal relationship. Esterly is currently married.
In fact, on Feb. 15 police were called to Amy’s home by her mother, Miu Luu, and both Esterly and his wife were there. It’s not clear why they were there, but that’s reportedly when police told him to stay away from the teen.
Luu reportedly found texts between her daughter and Esterly that sounded like they were "in a romantic relationship."
Miu reported her daughter missing when she failed to come home from school. She said she then noticed her daughter’s jewelry and other personal belongings were also missing from their home.
Esterly’s wife told police that her husband withdrew $4,000 from her bank account. Personal documents were also missing from their home.
The teen's younger brother told reporters that their family met Esterly's family at church years ago and that Amy is friends with one of his daughter's. They've even had Esterly over for dinner.
The brother, John, said after their mother dropped them off at the bus stop on Monday, Amy took off. He didn't know where she was going.
Allentown police issued a missing person alert on Wednesday, and labeled both Amy and Esterly as “endangered.”
A representative for the school claimed that Esterly “has not stepped foot on school grounds” since Feb. 9. That was reportedly when the school staff was made aware that he was not allowed to pick Amy up.
Esterly has several prior minor criminal charges against him that were dismissed.
He is a white male standing 5 feet 9 inches and weighing 185 pounds. Amy is an Asian female standing 4 feet 11 inches and weighing 90 pounds. They may be traveling in Esterly’s red, two-door 1999 Honda Accord; license plate KTL0529.
Anyone with information about their whereabouts should call investigators at 610-437-7751.
Emily Blackwood is an editor at YourTango who covers pop culture, true crime, dating, relationships and everything in between. Every Wednesday at 7:20 p.m. you can ask her any and all questions about self-love, dating, and relationships LIVE on YourTango’s Facebook page. You can follow her on Instagram (@blackw00d) and Twitter (@emztweetz).