Keystone resident Scott Walling, 33, was reported missing Thursday, Jan. 25, after his family had not heard from him in nine days.

His mother, Bethany Greenley, said she last talked to her son Jan. 16, when he told her he was safe. She said her son sounded paranoid and that she became worried when she wasn’t able to reach him for several days after that.

Greenley said her son has struggled with mental health and substance use issues in the past and doesn’t have a job. Since Jan. 5, she said he has been living in a tent on Montezuma Road, where he traveled via the Summit Stage bus system. Walling does not have a car.

Summit County Sheriff Jaime FitzSimons said the Sheriff’s Office has conducted searches on foot and with the use of a drone in the area where Walling was camping. Law enforcement officials pinged Walling’s phone Thursday, but FitzSimons declined to share the location of the phone other than to say it was outside of Summit County.

Greenley said the phone ping was determined to be in California, something she says doesn’t make sense because Walling wouldn’t have had the funds to travel. She said her son’s last transactions Jan. 16 were a $40 ATM withdrawal at a gas station in Silverthorne and a purchase at Panera Bread in Dillon, leaving only $4 remaining in his account. Greenley said she transferred money into her son’s account Monday, Jan. 22, and that the funds remain untouched.

Walling is 150 pounds, about 5 feet, 8 inches tall, and has brown eyes and red hair. He was last seen near Montezuma Road wearing a red jacket and gray beanie, according to Greenley. 

If you have any information about Walling, call the Summit County nonemergency line at 970-668-8600.