Featured Image Credit: @LacyHimself/X / Missing and exploited children
Joshua Nair
The father of a teenager that went missing earlier this year before being spotted on a livestream has explained what happened.
Troy Coleman went missing for over six weeks after leaving his Michigan home on 17 May, before eventually being found by authorities on 4 July following an impromptu appearance on a content creator's livestream.
FaZe Lacy was streaming on the streets of Florida when Troy made a quick appearance to greet the streamer, but he had no idea who he was until later on.
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Troy's father was worried from the day he went missing, as he couldn't find his son in the neighbourhood, after he said that he was making a short trip to the store but didn't return by nightfall.
Speaking to People, Weston Coleman said: “I came back two hours later and he wasn't here, and I've been keeping a tight eye on him, so I was like, where'd he go?”
Before being found in Miami, it turns out that, based on surveillance footage, the American got on a couple of public buses to a local mall, before boarding a bus to Atlanta the following morning.
However, his name was never entered in the system, so his family lost track of his location completely.
Weston then went through his son's computer, finding that Troy made searches about Key West Florida, after he developed the odd notion about finding celebrities.
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Weston then went to Key West with a friend to look for his son, before returning home to Flint - though the father said that they searched for Troy every day after his disappearance.
“I didn't quit looking for him the whole time,” he revealed.
“I know what he went through, and he went through a lot. I mean, a lot of nights, a lot of days.”
The family thought that the worst, but luckily, 50 days after his disappearance, a viewer that heard about Troy's appearance saw him in the livestream and alerted his family.
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Weston then called Miami Beach Police Department, with Troy's brother sending video and pictures of him to the authorities there to get him and bring him home.
"I woke up that afternoon to Flint Township [police] pounding on my door saying that they found him,” Weston said.
Apparently, the teen was robbed when he arrived in Atlanta, finding a way to travel to Miami with no money.
Troy was also arrested twice in Miami Beach for sleeping in a park after hours, and for petty theft of food - he then refused to give authorities his real name, saying that he was John Doe.
Originally, Troy brought around $600 and clothes, but nothing else according to his father.
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As seen in the livestream, the teen had spent a lot of time on the streets and exposed to the unforgiving Florida sun, resulting in missing skin on his ears, nose and shoulders, with some of his brown hair even turning white.
Since being found on 4 July, Troy has been in hospital, recovering from the trip that has left him unbalanced, acting erratically as his mental health has seemingly taken a hit.
Troy's family is hopeful that he can recover fully by his 18th birthday, in August.