Runaway Teens Of Amazon VP, State Rep Found Safe In Preston

PRESTON, WA – Wednesday morning started out normally for Brian Dilks. He left for work and made his usual stop at the Preston General Store, about a mile from his Issaaquah home, to pick up his morning Red Bull. When he went inside the store, something stuck out to him: two teenagers wearing red shirts.

His mind flashed to the two runaways he had read about on Facebook. He specifically remembered that they were last seen wearing red

“I was struggling with whether to confront him,” he told Patch. The two teens looked nervous. Their “heads were on a swivel,” Dilks recalled.

Watch: Runaway Mercer Island Teen Located Near Preston

By Wednesday morning, the two teens, Chad Chase, 16, of Fall City, and Ksenia "Kassie" Carter-Allensworth, 17, of Mercer Island, had been missing for more than three days. Carter-Allensworth was last seen Saturday night after leaving her Mercer Island home. Chase, her boyfriend, and the son of state Rep. Paul Graves, R-Fall City, had met her outside that night.

Their running away sparked an intense search involving Mercer Island police, Amazon’s security team, and scores of locals who heard about the teens through Facebook. Carter-Allensworth’s mother, Sandy Carter, is vice president at Amazon Web Services.

They were seen since Saturday multiple times: on Sunday in Bellevue, in Issaquah on Tuesday. Some speculated the duo had made it as far as Las Vegas. Dilks’ sighting of them, however, marked the end of their escapade.

Rather than confronting them, Dilks got in his car and decided to watch the teens and call authorities. He went to Facebook and tried to find one of the posts he had seen earlier. He found a story shared by the Mercer Island Patch Facebook page and left a comment: “At Preston store right now,” he wrote.

“She’s at [a] store in Preston?” Patch responded.

“Yes, with boyfriend both wearing red,” Dilks wrote.

Dilks simultaneously called 911 to report the sighting. Meanwhile, Patch contacted Mercer Island police Commander Jeff Magnan. Magnan alerted two Mercer Island detectives who were in the Preston area. They arrived first on the scene at the Preston Athletic Fields near exit 22 along I-90, which is where Dilks saw them headed last.

In addition to the detectives, King County Sheriff’s Office deputies responded, plus friends and family who were out searching for the teens.

Magnan said the teens were located near the park along the Preston-Snoqualmie Trail – perfectly safe and sound. They were reunited with their families before noon on Wednesday.

One additional call Dilks made Wednesday was to Graves, who had left his phone number for anyone who might spot his son. Dilks could hear the pain in Graves’ voice during the call. As a father of two, Dilks understood.

“I'm a father too, so when I first called him I could hear the pain in the father's voice,” Dilks said. “That hit home for me. I have two kids, so I definitely feel for him.”

And Graves feels the same. Neither Graves nor Sandy Carter were willing to talk to the media, instead requesting privacy after the ordeal. Through a state House spokesperson, Graves sent a thank-you to Dilks and everyone who helped him get his son back.

Graves was “overwhelmed with gratitude … for the help, prayers, and love they’ve received over the past several days,” state House GOP spokesperson Ashley Stubbs relayed to Patch.

Magnan said that the case is closed as far as police are concerned. There was no crime committed, he said.

Image courtesy Paul Graves