Jacksonville Boy Scout reported missing in 2017 may still be in the area

The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children is searching for new leads to bring home a 15-year-old Boy Scout who disappeared from his Jacksonville home in 2017.

On Monday, the center said Steven Lowery could still be in the Jacksonville area.

A woman who calls Steven her son posted on Facebook in September 2017 that he was missing, and that he had posted a picture, in which he had pink hair, on his Instagram account.

"Well, apparently young Steven Lowery here, 15 years old now, was adopted. And he is not where he is supposed to be now, which is with his adoptive family," said Jay Howell, who co-founded the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children and directed it for its first three years.

According to the center, Steven is one of 26 children reported to the center who are considered actively missing in Duval County.

Compare that to two in St. Johns and zero in Clay and Nassau counties.

Of the 26 missing kids and teens in Duval County, 11 were reported to the organization in 2018.

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement’s website said Steven was reported as a runaway.

“We want him to be safe and our deep experience over decades is kids that aren’t where they’re supposed to be are in some kind of danger, and we want to stop that,” said Howell.

When Steven was reported missing, he was 5 feet, 1 inch tall and weighed 120 pounds, with blonde hair and blue eyes.

He was last seen Sept. 1, 2017.

His 16^th birthday is next month.

If you have information about what happened to Steven Lowery, call the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children at 1-800-THE-LOST (1-800-843-5678) or call the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office at 904-630-0500.

Cox Media Group