SheWhoMustNotBeNamed
Former Member
Missing Since: December 12, 2000 from Union Township, Pennsylvania
Classification: Endangered Missing
Date Of Birth: February 20, 1988
Age: 12 years old
Height and Weight: 4'8, 95 pounds
Distinguishing Characteristics: Caucasian male. Blond hair, brown eyes. Pyles's hair was collar-length at the time of his disappearance, much longer than pictured in the photograph above. He has a scar near the right side of his waistline. Pyles may use the aliases Nick Cagnow and/or Nick Seaboy. Some agencies may spell his first name "Erik" and his middle name "Wayna."
Clothing/Jewelry Description: A gray sweatshirt with an image of a deer imprinted on the front, light blue jeans or pants, black sneakers, and a blue flannel jacket.
Details of Disappearance
Pyles exited his Northern Lebanon school bus near the intersection of US Route 22 and Pennsylvania Route 72 in Union Township, Pennsylvania on December 12, 2000. He was last seen walking behind the Jonestown Bible Church, towards a wooded area near US Route 22, at approximately 2:30 p.m. He was carrying a Washington Redskins book bag at the time of his disappearance. Pyles has never been heard from again.
Pyles and his younger brother resided with their older sister, Maria Custer, and her husband and three children in 2000. Their parents reside in Luray, Virginia. Custer took custody of the two boys after their parents allegedly neglected them. Custer stated both of her brothers had behavioral problems. Pyles rebelled against Custer's rules and curfews by running away several times in the past, but he always returned by nightfall. Custer said that Pyles used the first name "Nick" as an alias because he took the name while playing 'school' as a young child. He also told people he was from Cleona, Pennsylvania, but his sister reported that Pyles was unfamiliar with the town. He has been known to hitchhike in the past.
Custer enrolled Pyles in counseling sessions after he moved to Pennsylvania. He was an in-patient at Philhaven Behavioral Healthcare Services two times. Authorities said that there were unconfirmed sightings of Pyles at the Mount Gretna Roller Rink and other local areas after his disappearance. His case remains unsolved.
Custer has since remarried and taken the last name Fuhrman. She has passed a lie detector test in connection with Pyles's disappearance and police do not believe she was involved in his disappearance or harmed him in any way before he vanished. Authorities investigated the possibility that Pyles ran to the Shenandoah Valley area of Virginia where his parents and other relatives live. They questioned several of his family members there, but the interviews turned up no leads indicating Pyles's whereabouts and it is not believed he ever arrived in Virginia.
The Jonestown station of the Pennsylvania State Police is handling Pyles's case.
Investigating Agency
If you have any information concerning this case, please contact:
Pennsylvania State Police
717-865-2194