A teenage boy who disappeared from his Melbourne home a few days ago and is now believed to be sleeping rough in Sydney may have run away after his girlfriend left him.
Krishank Karthik walked out of his house four days ago towards his school but never showed up for class. It later transpired that he had not attended class for two weeks.
His mother Shobana said her life had been “hell” since her son disappeared and she urgently needed to hear him to make sure he was safe.
Now it has emerged that he recently broke up with his girlfriend.
“I have come to know that he is not running away from his family, there is something else that is bothering him,” Ms Karthik told 7News.
‘On Tuesday we found out he had a girlfriend and on Friday they broke up. We passed all those chat messages to the police.’
The mother is sad and worried that her son will be too ashamed to come home.
“She’s the loser, not you, honey. Come back and you’ll get a better girl than her,” she said.
A teenager who has been missing for four days has reportedly gone to an emergency shelter in the state. Krishank ‘Krish’ Karthik, 16, was last seen leaving his Truganina home in Melbourne’s west on Monday with spare clothes, a backpack and a suitcase at around 7.30am.
Ms Karthik previously told Daily Mail Australia she was stunned to learn he had allegedly sold his iPhone, worth more than $1,000, in Melbourne before moving to the other state. She was unaware of any trouble the 16-year-old might be fleeing.
“I wish we had answers to explain all this. We’re so worried about him,” she told Daily Mail Australia.
“We have no idea why he would be in Sydney. He doesn’t know anyone there and he’s never been there before.”
Karthik disappeared after leaving his home in Truganina, in Melbourne’s west, at around 7.30am on Monday, carrying spare clothes, a rucksack and a suitcase.
His family thought the 11th grader, Suzanne Cory, was on his way to school, but he never arrived.
They have since discovered that Krishank has not been attending classes for the past two weeks and has instead been logging into the school’s parent portal to report himself absent every day.
Krishank was last seen on Monday leaving his home in Truganina in Melbourne’s west with a change of clothes, a backpack and a suitcase at around 7.30am. Photo: Facebook
Police now believe the teenager is in NSW after receiving information that the missing teenager turned up at an emergency shelter in Cleveland Street, Surry Hills, just before 5am on August 6.
The charges come after he was spotted on a train from Tarneit station to central Melbourne on Monday morning, where he bought two doughnuts and withdrew cash from a 7-Eleven at around 10.50am.
About an hour later he travelled to North Melbourne, where he bought food.
At 1pm, the owner of a phone shop on Swanston St. recognised Krishank after seeing a social media advert asking for his whereabouts.
The owner claimed that the missing student had sold his iPhone 14 Pro that afternoon.
The night before he disappeared, Krishnak texted his mother asking when she would be home from the hospital, where she was visiting her ailing mother.
When she got home, she felt too tired to eat, but Krishnak convinced her to eat. They watched cricket together and were ‘laughing and talking’.
Krishnak wanted to stay up late, but his mother told him to go to bed because he had an exam the next day.
Then he said to her, “Good night, Mom. Love you, Mom.”
Distraught mother Shobana Karthik (pictured) said Krish’s last words to her the night before he disappeared were: ‘Good night mom. Love you, mom’
That was the last time she saw him.
“He didn’t wake me up in the morning because he knew I was tired,” Ms Karthik said.
Police are concerned for Krishank’s welfare as his behaviour is ‘out of character’.
He has an Indian appearance, is about 170 cm tall, has an average build and black hair.
He was last seen wearing a red T-shirt with the Suzanne Corry logo, black sweatpants, a sports uniform, black shoes and a gray hoodie.
If you have any information, please contact Crime Stoppers.