GREENBURGH, N.Y. -- The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children has sent a case management team to Westchester County to help find Christine Ji Woo Kang, the 16-year-old who ran away from her Edgemont home on Friday.
Robert Lowery Jr., vice president for the national center's Missing Children Division, said the team includes NCMEC's most experienced case manager. The non-profit organization is based in Alexandria, Va., and maintains a website at www.missingkids.com that publicizes Christine's and other cases.
Lowery said the center's experts are working with Christine's family and law enforcement officials to help figure out where she went when she boarded a train to Grand Central Station at 10:18 p.m. Friday night.
It's urgent that possible leads be tracked down early since the odds of finding a runaway diminish with time, Lowery said. He said the national center would help circulate photos, posters and other details to raise public awareness of Christine's disappearance.
Metro-North surveillance cameras captured images of Christine boarding a southbound train in Scarsdale and exiting Grand Central Station on Lexington Avenue near 43rd Street about 11:10 p.m. on Jan. 2.
Police said Christine had run away from home before, but never for more than a couple of hours. Friday's disappearance followed what police described as a minor disagreement with a parent. Police classified her as an "endangered missing juvenile."
She left home wearing pajamas -- without a coat, purse or other personal belongings.
Greenburgh Supervisor Paul Feiner said many town residents have been sharing Christine's photo on social media pages and putting posters with her photo at key locations.
"Greenburgh police are aggressively looking for Christine and giving this our priority attention,'' Feiner said. "The efforts of the community –- helping spread the word about Christine -- is greatly appreciated. Hopefully, Christine will be found safe and will be able to be a part of our community again. Please continue to spread the word to your friends in Westchester, NYC and elsewhere."
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