GPD locates 19-year-old missing since last Monday

UPDATE 9:45 a.m. Friday, May 3 – Graham Police Department Chief Brent Bullock said GPD was contacted at 1 a.m. Friday, May 3 by Folley Beach South Carolina in reference to Ashton Broderick Castle. He was stopped while walking as a suspicious person. The two officers checked his welfare and reported he was "in good shape." They advised GPD that Castle stated he was "fine and just seeing the world."

After the Graham Police Department requested help from the community last week regarding a 19-year-old who was missing from Graham, the department closed the investigation after determining Ashton Broderick Castle was safe in another state.

Castle, 19, left his home in the 100 block of Fawn Trail at 11:30 a.m. Monday, April 22 in a 2001 tan Nissan Frontier with the Texas license plate TWB3422. He was reported missing the following day and GPD requested any information regarding his disappearance.

GPD Chief Brent Bullock said the missing persons case was closed due to the department researching leads regarding Castle's flight history. Despite Castle no longer being on the missing persons list, Bullock said a welfare check is still being requested if he is located.

“We’ve still got him entered in as an attempt to locate for a welfare check through TCIC (Texas Crime Information Center) and NCIC (National Crime Information Center),” Bullock said. “If he is stopped or detained for some reason and he is run through the database in Austin it will come up as ‘check welfare’ to the officer.”

The chief said if an agency makes contact with Ashton it would send an administrative message to Young County dispatch which would inform GPD. GPD would then follow up with the agency that made contact with Ashton.

“Unless something comes back up that shows he is in danger or is a threat to himself or others, or something like that (the case will not reopen),” Bullock said. “On a missing person we show proof of life, that they are okay and good. The officers that were there at the airport reviewing the video said he didn’t look to be in distress. In their professional opinion, not knowing any background, they would say he made rational decisions and was just a normal person in the airport.”

Ashton’s stepmother, Amber Rathmell Castle, has been providing updates regarding details of the case. She said in a social media post that his license plate was pinged Monday, April 22 at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport terminal D around three hours after leaving Graham.

“We were able to get the info that he flew on Spirit Airline from DFW to Las Vegas. From there he flew to Charleston, South Carolina. At this point we do not know anything else,” Amber said Saturday, April 27. “We have called our phone service provider. They say they do not have call logs because they are considered prepaid. …We are still working very hard to find more info.”

His stepmother said that the family visited with a GPD investigator Monday, April 29 and provided several details to help in the search.

She said Ashton may have flown out of DFW at 11:36 p.m. April 22 with no bags, arrived at Las Vegas at 12:30 a.m. Tuesday, April 23 and then left at 8:39 a.m. and arrived at Charleston, South Carolina at 4:11 p.m. with luggage. GPD Chief Brent Bullock said the department was able to track Ashton through agencies in those cities.

“We basically tracked him through systems with other agencies to Las Vegas, where he boarded a flight from DFW to Las Vegas. Then (he flew) from Las Vegas to Charleston, South Carolina,” Bullock said. “Working with the airport in Las Vegas (we determined) he was by himself making normal decisions and was never on the phone or anything, so it was not like somebody was coaching him or having him do something he didn’t want to do.”

Bullock said Ashton got off the plane with luggage in Charleston and walked through the airport before boarding a bus.

“We have pretty much proven that he’s still alive (and) there doesn’t appear to be any foul play so we have taken him out as a missing person and now we have it as a welfare check,” Bullock said.

Castle has not contacted his family since the time he went missing. Ashton’s stepmother made a post Tuesday, April 30 updating the community and thanking them for support.

“On behalf of our whole family we thank you all for the prayers, meals prepared for us, all the extra eyes, sharing of posts, and all of the others who were kind enough to help out a bunch of strangers who are worried sick over this by asking questions and looking into stuff,” she said. “Thank you Graham Texas Police Department for working to find Ashton.”

GPD had been in contact with the family of Castle every day since his disappearance and notified them Monday, April 29 of the updates with the reviewed video footage at the airport.

“Knowing he left on his own accord is a much better thought than him being manipulated into doing something sinister. However, the heartache that his parents and extended family feel is still very real. This will take some time for everyone to come to terms with,” Amber Castle said. “…Ashton felt the need to leave on his own terms and find his place in this world which we totally understand. So please continue to pray for him on his journey.”