Urgent search for missing Morehead State Student from Bardstown

His family says he has no phone, no wallet and no ID. He was last seen driving south near Georgetown.

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Gus was found safe around 1:35 p.m. on Wednesday September 23rd

Gus O'Daniel hasn't been heard from in more than 24 hours, and his family is pleading for anyone who's seen him or his white Ford Escape to call police now.

The 19-year-old Morehead State freshman hasn't been heard from since Tuesday afternoon. His mom, Allison O'Daniel, told me Wednesday that it's completely out of character. Gus normally texts his parents five to ten times a day. By 7 p.m. Tuesday, they hadn't heard a word.

"He's usually the happiest, most outgoing person you've ever met," Allison said.

The timeline

Around 3:30 Tuesday afternoon, Allison got a voicemail from a police officer. It said her son had run out of gas in Williamstown, Kentucky, and that she needed to send money.

She thought it was a scam. When she checked Life360, it showed Gus still at Morehead State, so she dismissed it.

It turned out Gus's phone was on campus. Gus wasn't.

When the family didn't hear from him that evening, Allison's husband called Williamstown police, who confirmed the call was real. According to what police told the family, Gus had pulled into a gas station out of gas and asked the attendant for help reaching his mom. An officer was sent to check on him. By the time the officer arrived, a stranger had already given Gus $10 worth of gas, and he had left.

Allison said there was no police incident. Gus was just stranded, and a good Samaritan helped him get back on the road.

Last seen near Georgetown, heading south

Around 5 p.m. Tuesday, a Flock license-plate camera captured his car just outside Georgetown, heading south. That's the last confirmed sighting.

Allison believes he may have been trying to get back to school. To reach Morehead from northern Kentucky, you'd head south through Georgetown and then Lexington before going east.

Why he was in Williamstown in the first place is still a mystery. Gus is a devout Baptist and has visited the Ark Encounter there before. But she stressed she doesn't really know.

"I have eight kids, and I could tell you what seven of my kids are thinking," she said. "Gus, I have no idea."

What his family wants people to know

Gus graduated from high school in Bardstown last year and threw himself into college life at Morehead State. He joined soccer, was elected to student government and was trying out for the track team. His mom said it became a lot, very quickly. Gus is autistic and doesn't do well with big transitions. His dad spent the past weekend with him, and they made a plan to scale back and focus on school.

By Monday, Allison said, he sounded upbeat and like his normal self.

She said Gus has never done anything like this before. "He likes to be very independent and not ask for help, so I can see him running out of gas, and then just trying to figure out how to get back to school on his own," she explained.

Without his phone, he likely doesn't know phone numbers or addresses, even he does have several friends at college in Georgetown.

The search

The family spent Wednesday morning getting bounced between agencies over jurisdiction: Morehead, Bardstown, Georgetown. Kentucky State Police Post 8 in Morehead has now taken the official missing person report. Allison said the trooper who took it was treating it seriously, with plans for boots on the ground and a review of more Flock camera data.

I've reached out to KSP for more information and haven't heard back yet. I'll update this story when I do.

Gus's dad is heading toward the Georgetown area to search.

"He's out there somewhere," Allison told me before we hung up.

Gus O'Daniel is 19, 5-foot-6, about 130 pounds, with black hair and brown eyes. He is driving a white 2017 Ford Escape with Kentucky license plate X3K591.

He does not have his wallet or phone.

If you see Gus or his car, or have any information, call Kentucky State Police at (800) 222-5555 or your local law enforcement agency.

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