Search continues for missing 21-year-old Silicon Valley college student, Bobby O’Leary

Bobby O’Leary, 21, was last seen just before midnight on April 11, when he ran away from a security guard, leaving his dog and vehicle behind. He was spotted two days later in the mudflats of Alviso Marina County Park in California, and has not been seen since, despite the efforts of friends and family who have been searching for him. 

O’Leary’s mother, Jean, told the San Jose Mercury News, that the last time she saw her son he was planning to take the family dog out, and it was not uncommon for him to take the dog for a drive when he didn’t feel like walking. He left his cellphone at home, which was not unusual either, she said. What was unusual was that he left his wallet and license at home.

A posting on Craigslist said that two of O’Leary’s friends spoke with a security guard at a waste treatment dump area near where Bobby was last seen who said he had seen a shoe-less, muddy, young man who asked him, “Where is the park?”

The search is continuing in the area where the reported sighting occurred, as well as local homeless camps and shelters.

O’Leary graduated from Archbisop Mitty High School in 2013, where he was a standout football player. That fall, he enrolled at Gannon University in Erie, Pennsylvania, on a football scholarship, but left after one year.

“He thought he was going to get to play and he was red-shirted,” said Jean, referring to the practice of keeping athletes out of college competition for a year to develop their skills and extend their period of playing eligibility. “And it was a cold, gray winter in Erie,” his mother told the Mercury News.

Although he struggled to define his life after moving back home and no longer playing football, things seemed to be going well. He had a weekend job working as a security guard and had finished his first quarter at a local community college.

Over 950 people have joined a Facebook group dedicated to locating the man and over $25,000 has been raised to supplement law enforcement efforts to find him. The family has also hired a private investigator.

Bobby O’Leary is white with brown hair and hazel eyes. He is 6-foot-1, weighs around 220 pounds and was last seen wearing pants and a blazer. Anyone with information about his whereabouts can call Santa Clara police Detective Mike Horn at 408-615-4822.

[Feature Photo: Facebook]