A Facebook group with more than 19,000 members is trying to piece together what happened to Craig Baxter, a 28-year-old optometry student who went missing Monday.
Members of the group, “Craig Baxter Missing … URGENT PLEA FOR HELP,†hope spreading his picture and information on social media will bring him home. A twitter hashtag, #findcraigbaxter, took hold Wednesday night and a search shows examples of people tweeting to national news outlets and personalities asking for coverage.
A flier with Baxter’s picture and information is being printed and distributed throughout Lincoln and Omaha.
Baxter hasn’t been seen since he left his sister’s Lincoln home early Monday, heading to his first optometry rotation at Omaha Eye & Laser Institute. By noon Monday, his family reported him missing.
While the Lincoln Police Department is heading the search, other agencies have offered their assistance, including the Nebraska State Patrol, which now lists Baxter as a missing person on its website.
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Police are checking any tips they receive. Several people have reported seeing the SUV Baxter was driving, but none were his. The dark blue 2005 BMW X3 has the license plate number 15-B187.
The North Platte native is a fourth-year student at Southern College of Optometry in Memphis, Tennessee, and back in Nebraska for his externship.
The college’s vice president for student services, Joseph Hauser, released a statement Thursday morning saying, “Over the last few days, the college has received many expressions of concern for Craig. ... I know the Baxter family has appreciated all the prayers and positive thoughts for Craig.â€
Classmates and others at the college observed a moment of silence on Thursday.
Wednesday night, St. Patrick’s Church in North Platte held a rosary prayer service for Baxter and more than 50 people gathered at the St. Thomas Aquinas Newman Center in Lincoln to pray.
Baxter is described as 6-foot-1, 180 pounds with brown hair and green eyes. Anyone who sees Baxter or his SUV are asked to call Lincoln police at 402-441-6000 or 911.