VIDEO: Volunteers Pitch in to Search for Missing Teen in New Haven

The death of a beloved horse may have triggered the mysterious disappearance of a Middletown teen whom police have been searching for since early Thursday, his father said Sunday. Clark Carman said his son, Nathan, was still mourning a horse that died in January.

“He’s been upset ... hasn’t gotten through that grieving process. They were supposed to bury the horse in April,” Clark said at the New Haven Police substation off the Green. "And so I don't think he's ever gotten over that."

In speculating where his son was headed, Clark said he only knows one thing. "He seems focused on something."

With heavy rain and the type of wind that turns umbrellas inside out, family, friends and volunteers gathered to pick up flyers, maps of surrounding streets and form search parties.

Nathan, who has Asperger's Syndrome, a form of autism, went  missing early Thursday from his home in Middletown and has been seen twice since then: at 1:30 p.m. at the Middletown Area Transit station on Main Street and then at 2:15 p.m. leaving a bus near Temple Street in New Haven.

"I've been down here looking for two days," says Clark. "Well, we thought he was in Westbrook, going fishing, so we lost time there. I've checked bus stations and train stations."

Although, Clark says, he fairly sure Nathan is OK, it's not like him to leave home — or miss his curfew. "He's never been home after dark before."

And Nathan doesn't know the city of New Haven at all. His father describes him as behaving like a "recluse" this summer. "He went fishing a few times, that's where I thought he was, because he had gone fishing before — he caught a couple of stripers — he loves to fish."

Nathan is more of a country kid, his dad says. "He's skilled in the woods. That's the other thing that’s a possiblity, he’s out in the woods someplace, he’s comfortable with that."

"The problem is, in a city, he doesn’t function well. He could be taken advantage of," Clark says, even though he's 6 foot 4 inches tall.

New Haven Police officer Matthew P. Wynne said Nathan had $1,000 in cash on him. His father confirms that.

"I believe he has money, he saved all his money, because he worked all through the winters plowing drivways, last summer, mowing lawns, he would help the elderly and not charge them." 

"So he’s well-liked, but doesn’t have any friends," Clark said, a common trait among those with Asperger's, which makes it even more difficult to pin down information or leads.

"So you can't go out and contact friends to find out out what or where he may have been thinking, where he was heading, so it's difficult in that regard."

Earlier version:

The search for a missing Middletown teenager is intensifying with the family putting out a call for help in finding the boy, who has a form of autism known as Asperger's Syndrome.  

Family and friends of Nathan Carman, 17, are meeting on the New Haven Green at 10 a.m. on Sunday to conduct a search of the area; anyone interested in assisting the family is encouraged to show up. For more information call 860-965-6672.

Nathan was last seen Thursday near Temple Street in New Haven at about 2 p.m., shortly after exiting a bus he is believed to have boarded in Middletown.    

Anyone with information is encouraged to call the Middletown Police Department at 860-347-2541.Nathan went missing early Thursday after leaving on his bike to go fishing in Westbrook. 

He was seen on video at 1:30 p.m. Thursday at the Middletown Area Transit bus station camera boarding a bus headed toward New Haven, according to police.

Earlier version:

Middletown Police are searching for a Middletown teen with Asperger's who left home early Thursday to go fishing in Westbrook.

Nathan Carman, 17, left Middletown at 7 a.m. on his black mountain bike to travel 30 miles and hasn't been seen since. 

State Police Troopers are searching local fishing holes now, according to police.

Asburgers Syndrome is a form of autism. Police say it may make Nathan seem rude but not violent. Those who may comes across Nathan are asked to calmly talk with him but don’t touch him because that will cause him to shut down.

He will use passive resistance and will most likely go limp. Nathan is a white male, 6 feet 4 inches tall, 150 pounds, with short light brown hair, brown eyes and no facial hair.

He has a scar on his left elbow and his right big toenail was ripped off recently. Nathan was wearing khaki pants, a long-sleeve button-down shirt (unknown color), carrying a black backpack with fishing pole sticking out of it, and wearing a silver bike helmet.

The black mountain bike had a rack on the back with saddle bags. Contact police at 860-347-2541 with any information.

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