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Lost Valatie teen found at Wal Mart

Jan 13, 2011 5:42 am
16 year old Thomas Unser, reported missing from Valatie since Monday, was located around 1:30 a.m. Wednesday by his former stepfather, Todd Breen, at the Walmart store in East Greenbush, according to New York State Police at Livingston, as reported in this morning's Register Star. Once Unser’s family located the teen, they contacted State Police and confirmed he was in good health. The investigation is now closed.




Unser’s family searched for him through the evening Tuesday, said his mother Cheryl Unser. “We had been out since, probably, 5 p.m. yesterday afternoon,” she said. “We had about 10 to 15 of us down in Rensselaer County.” The family followed leads that took them to Schodack, Castleton and Rensselaer, where Cheryl Unser said police located a person who had given him a ride to the Rensselaer K-Mart. There, police learned that Unser had been calling people and trying to get a ride to the Walmart in East Greenbush. Cheryl Unser said she and family members walked around the shopping complex and found nothing. Exhausted, Cheryl Unser returned home to Valatie but her husband went on to the Wal Mart, where a manager took Breen to the store’s video surveillance room, where they saw footage of Thomas Unser entering the Walmart again.




Adding a wrinkle to the story, it turns out there was a warrant for Thomas’ arrest for violating probation; following his discovery at the Wal Mart, the Unser family attended court Wednesday morning and the 16 year old was placed in the Berkshire Farm Center for Youth.