Luis Brayan Choc-Yaxcal, 16, was last seen at his guardian’s home in Culpeper, Virginia on Thursday, July 28, 2022. He is a Hispanic male with black hair and brown eyes, about 5 feet 3 inches tall and 130 pounds. Reports say he left with all his personal belongings and took a cell phone belonging to the guardian; that phone was later disconnected.

Authorities say the guardian did not report Luis missing until December 2022, explaining they did not realize police needed to be notified. That roughly five-month gap between the last sighting and the missing-person report complicated the early stages of the investigation. Investigators do not have a confirmed destination or method of travel for Luis, and his whereabouts remain unknown.

Luis’s case is listed among several missing Guatemalan teens in the Culpeper area, a pattern that has concerned community members and law enforcement. If anyone has information about Luis’s movements after July 28, 2022, please contact the Culpeper Police Department.