Scott Di Vincenzo is back with his family in Surrey thanks to help from his school mates and teachers.
Di Vincenzo, 13, went missing in Nanaimo Sunday and more than his family and Nanaimo RCMP mobilized to find him. Friends and teachers from his school came to Nanaimo to canvass schools, street kids and anyone else they thought could help with the search.
Di Vincenzo ran away from home with a female friend Saturday and hopped a ferry to Nanaimo. They were picked up by Nanaimo Mounties when they arrived at Departure Bay and turned over to his friend's parents. When they stopped at the Tim Hortons on Wallace Street, en route to the ferry Sunday, Di Vincenzo fled again and was not heard from until shortly before he was reunited with his family Wednesday at about 9:30 p.m.
Armstrong said she met with the students and teachers from Surrey to determine how best to approach local kids who might know where Di Vincenzo was.
Trust built through established relationships between police, schools, and youth helped, but Armstrong said it was the co-operation between the youths from Surrey and Nanaimo that was key to successfully reuniting Di Vincenzo with his family.
More than 15 teachers, friends and family members were involved in the search.
"There were some street kids who knew where he was," said Sgt. Sheryl Armstrong, Nanaimo RCMP spokeswoman. "There's a school counsellor in town that they all trust, so they called him. The counsellor was able to reach out to the young kid and, working with the school liaison [members], we were able to get him back home."