Mountain Lakes Runaway Found After 2 Weeks Missing

MOUNTAIN LAKES, NJ — Two weeks after leaving his Mountain Lakes home on bike, 15-year-old Thomas Kolding has been found, Morris County Prosecutor Fredrick Knapp said Tuesday. Kolding's father Nicolai said the teen was found in Philladelphia.

Kolding was last seen at home on Oct. 30. The teen ran away with a backpack full of clothes and rode New Jersey Transit trains into New York Penn Station before making his way down to Camden, where he was caught on a security camera. From there, Kolding walked across the Ben Franklin Bridge into Philadelphia. That was the last confirmed sighting before officials announced he was found.

"He will need at least a night in the hospital as he’s been through a lot over these last two weeks. In time, there may be more to share but, for now, we are grateful beyond words and will go quiet for a while to focus everything we can give to the long road to recovery," Nicolai Kolding said in a public post late Tuesday night.

Knapp thanked law enforcement officers from across the country who assisted in the search.

"Prosecutor Knapp, Chief Wilson, and Chief Bennett extend their sincerest appreciation to the multiple jurisdictions and agencies involved in this investigation including but not limited to New Jersey Transit Police Department, Amtrak Police Department, New Jersey State Police Department, Camden Police Department, Philadelphia Police Department, Delaware Port Authority Police Department, Miami Township, Ohio Police Department, as well as transportation agencies who assisted in the coordination of a multi-state search for Thomas Kolding," Knapp said.

Nicolai Kolding also thanked everyone involved in the search and said he would share more information later.

"To our family, our neighbors, our friends, the police, the media, and the literally thousands upon thousands who shared and cared, you all played a vital role in finding Thomas. From the bottom of our hearts: much love and thank you," Kolding said.

Image via Morris County Prosecutor's Office.