Authorities looking for a missing northeast Iowa teenager with autism are moving the search in a new direction. Officials no longer plan to use volunteers in what’s been a massive effort to find 16-year-old Jake Wilson of La Porte City, who disappeared Saturday evening when he went for a walk near a creek just a few blocks from his home and didn’t return. Over the last four days, more than 2,100 volunteers have searched about 255 square miles of land in and around La Porte City, checking and re-checking woods and farms fields with no signs of Wilson.

Now, with Thursday (today) marking the fifth day since the teenager’s disappearance, authorities plan to move forward using the help of specialists who are trained to search waterways and other spots not easily accessible. About 30 local, state, and federal investigators are actively working the case.

(Radio Iowa)