Search intensifies for missing teen whose car was found abandoned weeks after she vanished

The search for a missing California teenager intensified after her car was discovered dumped in the Santa Cruz Mountains.

Katie Schneider, 17, has not been seen since 5 July when she left her home driving her white Honda Accord vehicle, police say.

Multiple search and rescue crews have been working their way through an isolated stretch of Highway 35 near the Castle Rock State Park.

Deputies from Santa Clara, Santa Cruz and Monterey counties were all involved in the search with some crews using ropes to get through the rugged terrain.

At least two search dogs were also brought in to help with the search, reported KTVU.

“A lot of people are very concerned,” Saratoga City Council member Chuck Page told the station. “I’ve gotten emails from people I’ve never even met, and they’re like, ‘please help us.’”

And he added: “Anytime that a child or a young person disappears, it just breaks our hearts. I mean, many of us have children – mine are all grown now – but it just breaks our hearts. And so everybody is pulling together.”

Santa Clara County sheriff’s investigators say that the teenager’s car was found in the area on Monday, with damage to the surrounding vegetation thought to have been done by another vehicle.

Police say that Katie is 5 foot five tall and weighs 115 pounds.

Katie’s mother has shared a photo of her daughter on social media, marking the one-month anniversary of her disappearance.

“We continue to work closely with law enforcement and have delayed going public in part because we wished to honor their efforts to find Katie,” wrote Nola Schneider.

“At the same time, because Katie is a shy, introverted child, we have tried to protect her privacy, and to do whatever we can to find her.”