Missing Fremont girl may have run away to meet with online associates, police say

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Katie Hong was last seen about 6:20 p.m. on Friday at her home on Queens Park Court, near Rix Park. (Courtesy of the Fremont Police Department)

FREMONT, Calif. - A 16-year-old girl who was reported missing last week may have run away from her home to meet with people she interacted with online, police said on Thursday.

The Fremont Police Department said that Katie Hong – who was last seen leaving her home on Friday evening – left a note to her family that expressed "an intention of ‘running away’ and to potentially meet with individual(s) known only by online screen names."

"She feels that she has disappointed us"

What we know:

Katie’ parents previously shared with KTVU that the teen left a note, but did not divulge its contents.

"She feels that she has disappointed us. Though we don’t agree. We are not disappointed with her. Yes, she made a mistake. But everyone does," said her father Sulghi Hong.

Police said that Katie’s note indicated she did not know the individuals’ names, and that they would not share them with her. Authorities also noted that "it does not appear that Katie met these people prior to her being missing."

What we don't know:

The FPD said that an investigation into the people Katie interacted with over the internet "has not yielded information in learning who Katie may be with or her whereabouts."

The FPD also said that several security cameras near Katie’s home on Queens Park Court, near Rix Park, captured the teenager walking alone from her residence on the Friday she was reported missing to Irvington Community Park, located less than a mile away from where she lived.

Police added that Katie’s note referenced Irvington Community Park, but did not elaborate on the park’s significance to her disappearance. 

Katie was last captured by surveillance video walking through the gas station on the corner of Blacow Road and Grimmer Boulevard, toward Irvington Community Park.

Her parents said her phone has not been found. 

Katie is 5 feet tall and weighs 100 pounds, with brown hair, brown eyes and braces. She was last seen wearing a navy blue zip-up jacket and gray sweatpants, and was carrying a red Patagonia backpack that police say may have been carrying a desktop computer.

Anyone with information on her whereabouts was asked to contact the FPD at 510-790-6800.