Berkeley police looking into 14-year-old missing person case
BERKELEY — After the family of a teenager who has been missing for the past 14 years contacted Berkeley police, detectives are calling on the community for solid leads they hope will allow them to investigate further.
Patrick McColl
Patrick McColl, missing for 14 years, in a computer rendering showing how he could look today.
On Aug. 28, 1995, Berkeley High School student Peter John McColl, then 16, disappeared after telling his brother he was going to a bookstore on Telegraph Avenue. He last was seen about 10:30 a.m. that day by family members at their home in the 700 block of The Alameda in North Berkeley, police said.
McColl declined an invitation to have breakfast with his mother and instead told his brother he was headed to the bookstore. At 11:39 p.m. Aug. 28, when McColl had not come home or contacted his parents, the family called Berkeley police and reported him missing.
At the time of McColl’s disappearance, he was going to enter his junior year at Berkeley High and had been a member of the school’s crew team. McColl was described by family members as “a loving, quiet young man who shared a passion for music and playing the guitar,” police said.
At the time of his disappearance, McColl was nearsighted and wore glasses. He would be 30 now, but the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children only has a picture enhanced to age 22, police said.
McColl’s father, John McColl, has a message for his son: “Peter, if you are out there, we still love you. Please come home. Our hearts ache for you.”
Anyone with information regarding this case is asked to contact the Berkeley police homicide unit, which routinely handles missing person cases, at 510-981-5741 or the department’s nonemergency line at 510-981-5900. Callers can remain anonymous by calling Bay Area Crime Stoppers tip line at 800-222-8477 or the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children at 800-843-5678.
