Runaway teens sought by police

Carson City investigators are asking for the public's help in locating a brother and sister who ran away from their Carson City home Nov. 13.

Detective Craig Lowe said Mariah and Timothy Whitmer were last seen Nov. 12 when their mother, Terry Whitmer, went to bed.

The following morning, Mariah, 14, and Timothy, 16, were gone, she said.

On Wednesday, Mariah and Timothy's 20-year-old sister in Reno received a text message that said, "Don't worry, we're OK."

Mariah is in ninth grade and Tim is in 10th at Carson High School.

Lowe believes the two are still in town and are being hidden by friends.

He warned anyone, especially parents of friends who may know where the children are, that helping hide a runaway is a crime.

Terry Whitmer asked her children, whom she adopted when they were babies, to come home.

"We love them and we just really want them home and to work things out," she said. "We want them to be safe. They belong at home."

Anyone with information on their whereabouts can call non-emergency dispatch at 887-2007, reference case number 088293; the Whitmer family at 841-2811; or e-mail Terry Whitmer at btwhitmer@hotmail.com. Detective Lowe can be reached at 887-2020 ext. 41403.

- Contact reporter F.T. Norton at ftnorton@nevadaappeal.com or 881-1213.