Search Continues, Expands for Missing Connecticut Teen: UPDATE

STERLING, CT — In an 8:30 p.m. update, Connecticut State Police said the search for Todd "T.J." Allen has been suspended.

"Again, if new information is developed they will return," Trooper Kelly Grant said in an email. "Troopers and detectives continue to investigate."

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In a Friday afternoon update, Connecticut State Police say they are broadening the search area as they look for Todd “T.J.” Allen based on the development of new information.

As of 1:30 p.m., detectives from Eastern District Major Crime, K-9 Search and Rescue teams and the State Police Aviation Unit are searching for Allen, according to Trooper Kelly Grant.

Grant said Trooper 1 helicopter is searching in the area of South Killingly toward the Rhode Island State line.

Allen, 18, was last seen the day after Christmas after leaving his house on a dirt bike.

Friends, family and the community at-large have been conducting their own searches in an attempt to find Allen. However, according to the “Search for TJ” Facebook page, state police have asked everyone to stay out of the woods because they will “have K9 units all over.”

Allen left his home in the unit block of Dixon Road in Sterling at approximately 1 p.m. on Dec. 26 on his Honda XR100 dirt bike in an unknown direction. Allen frequents the Rails to Trail bike path that goes from Sterling into Coventry, Rhode Island, as well as the area of Ross Pond, state police said.

The last phone contact with Allen was on Dec. 26 at approximately 1:50 p.m. when he said he had crashed and hurt his leg, state police said.

Cell phone pings have been conducted in an attempt to locate Allen, however, the ping of the cell phone indicates that the phone is turned off or the battery died and an accurate location cannot be obtained, according to state police.

About 100 people gathered at the Sterling Town Hall on Thursday night for a candlelight vigil, according to WTNH News 8.

Erica Rogers, Allen’s sister, told WTNH News 8 that their parents, who weren’t at the vigil, are trying to “hold onto every little bit of hope they have. It gets harder every day.”

Allen is described as a white male, approximately 5 feet, 10 inches tall and 130 pounds, with brown hair and blue eyes. Allen was last seen wearing blue jeans, a camouflage sweatshirt and a backpack.

Connecticut State Police ask that anyone with information to contact Troop D at 860-779-4900.

Read more about the vigil at WTNH News 8 here and visit the “Search for TJ” Facebook page here.

Image via Connecticut State Police