A Colorado Springs family needs your help to find an 11-year-old boy who authorities say ran away.
The El Paso County Sheriff's Office said Gannon Stauch was last seen by his stepmother at his home in Lorson Ranch Monday afternoon and said that he was headed to a friend's house down the street.
The boy was wearing a blue jacket and jeans. He is 4'9" and weighs 90 pounds.
The family says people have been searching since Monday and have already covered a lot of ground looking all over Lorson Ranch, Fountain, and beyond for Gannon. Flyers have been handed out and posted in a community-wide effort to bring the boy home.
On Wednesday night hundreds of people came together for a prayer vigil at Restoration Church. Leaders at the church say the Stauch family is part of the congregation and that Gannon attends Wednesday night activities.
"It's one of our own. This little guy is one of our own...we've been monitoring it closely. Of course, deeply concerned," Lead Pastor Paul Aragon said.
The vigil was a time of worship, prayer, and a chance to bring some light to a dark and uncertain situation.
"Since we are so close in proximity of the family, where they live, we felt like this would be a natural place to come together and just provide support for the community...this community is going to make it through this difficult time. We don't know what's going on, but our hearts hurt. We just want to be here for everyone," Aragon said.
Media Pastor Andy Davenport says people at the church describe Gannon as "a smiling kid, happy kid who just wants to come and hang out and have a good time."
His message to the congregation: "We don't want to talk about the maybes or yeses or noes. We just want to lift him in prayer and pray that he can come home."
News5 spoke with Al Stauch, Gannon's dad, on Tuesday. He said, "He's not really the type just to walk off...told my wife he was going to play and then...haven't seen him since."
He said Gannon took off for a friend's house on Monday at about 3:30 p.m. Within a few hours, he said his wife knew something was wrong when Gannon didn't come home.
"We kind of do the street light rule - when the street lights come on or it gets dark, they better be home and it was like maybe 30 minutes past that...started to worry at that point. Then I started texting all the friends that we know he goes to and nobody had seen him," Stauch said.
He said Gannon didn't let them know what friend's house he was going to in the neighborhood and that this was "unlike him so that's why we're obviously really concerned."
Eventually, the police were called. "Once we went through that whole checklist it's like, you know, where could he be?" Stauch said. The family got the word out via social media.
"The neighborhood just like rallied behind us so that was great," he said.
Search parties formed Monday night and drones were even brought out to try and find the young boy. John Wilson took his drone out on Tuesday.
"I have the ability and the skills, and the know how to do so. I know the family. The father is military. I spent 12 years in the military so that's a family I know wouldn't let me down, so just doing the same thing," Wilson said.
It's a helping hand to try and find this 11-year-old who means the world to his loved ones.
"He's just kind and tenderhearted...just hoping he's all right out there you know? Hoping we can find him soon," Stauch said.
A little after 10 p.m. Tuesday, the El Paso County Sheriff's Office showed up at Gannon's home.
Law enforcement walked up to the home and appeared to be searching in the backyard with flashlights. The garage door was opened and a car was pulled out. We are waiting for an update from the Sheriff's Office on why law enforcement was there.
As of Wednesday night there was no new information from law enforcement on where Gannon might be. The Sheriff's Office said the Major Crimes Unit is leading the investigation for their ability to gather information and their investigative training.
Stauch is asking everyone to keep their eyes and ears open and that if you see anything call local law enforcement.
Anyone with information on his whereabouts is asked to call (719) 390-5555.
