The mum of a “largely non-verbal” and vulnerable teenager has appealed for help to find him after he disappeared from his hometown on Sunday.
Danny Brunton, from Port Seton in East Lothian, was last seen in the Castle Avenue area at around 11pm.
Police believe the 17-year-old is in Edinburgh having passed through Tranent, Prestonpans and Musselburgh.
People local to those areas have been urged to check garages, sheds, and outbuildings for any signs of him as he is likely to have sought shelter or to have built himself den.
But members of the public have been warned not approach Danny if they see them and instead contact the police.
His mum issued a statement through Police Scotland on Wednesday.
“Danny is largely non-verbal and is not able to communicate well,” she said.
“He isn’t used to being around others so it is possible he might have sought shelter or made a den to take himself away from people.
“I would urge anyone who thinks they might have seen him at any time since Sunday night to let the police know immediately rather than speaking with him as this might potentially alarm him further.
“We just want to make sure he is safe and to get him home.”
Police have established the most recent sighting of Danny on Portobello High Street at around 4.30am on Monday, heading towards Edinburgh city centre.
Officers have released a CCTV image from this time.
Following further enquiries, a further sighting at Abbey Strand around 12.30pm on Monday are now unconfirmed as being Danny.
Danny is described as around 5ft7in tall, of slim build with shoulder-length dark blonde hair.
When last seen, he was wearing a black Adidas/Nike rain jacket, grey jogging bottoms and a black rucksack. He is believed to be wearing either black sliders or white converse shoes.
Inspector George Nisbet said: “As time passes, our concern for Danny’s welfare continues to grow. Extensive enquiries are ongoing to locate him and we are keeping his family informed at every stage.
“We believe Danny has passed through Tranent, Prestonpans and Musselburgh and that he is now in Edinburgh.
“We are working extensively to try and find Danny and I would ask anyone in these areas to check garages, sheds, and outbuildings for any signs of him as he is likely to have sought shelter.
“We would also continue ask anyone with a dash-cam, CCTV or doorbell camera to check your footage for anything of relevance that might help us with our enquiries.
“Danny is vulnerable and may feel apprehensive about speaking with members of the public, so if you see him please contact police immediately rather than approaching him.”
Anyone with any information is asked to contact police on 101 quoting incident number 0994 of Monday, May 30, 2022.
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