The Bellingham Police Department and Washington State Patrol are searching for a 14-year-old boy who has been missing since Monday afternoon. Terrence Charlie was last seen around 5 p.m. on Monday, August 10, when he left his home heading toward Bellis Fair Mall. As of Thursday, August 13, he had not been located, and the Washington State Patrol issued a Missing Indigenous Person Alert in his name.
Charlie is described as approximately 5 feet 2 inches tall, weighing 130 pounds, with brown hair and brown eyes. He was last seen wearing a white T-shirt with designs on the back, jeans, and black shoes. Anyone who sees Charlie or knows of his whereabouts is asked to call 911 immediately.
About the Missing Indigenous Person Alert
The Missing Indigenous Person Alert is a Washington State notification system activated by the Washington State Patrol when an Indigenous person goes missing under circumstances that suggest risk to their safety. The alert system was created in recognition of the disproportionate rate at which Indigenous people, particularly women and children, go missing across the United States and Canada, and the historically inadequate response those cases have received from law enforcement agencies at every level of government.
For decades, families of missing Indigenous people reported that their cases were deprioritized, misclassified, or simply not investigated with the same urgency applied to cases involving non-Indigenous victims. The Missing and Murdered Indigenous People movement, known by its MMIP acronym, emerged from that documented pattern of neglect and has pushed for legislative, policy, and cultural changes at the federal, state, and tribal levels. Washington State formalized the Missing Indigenous Person Alert in recent years as part of broader legislative efforts to address MMIP, establishing a dedicated notification system that can mobilize public attention quickly when an Indigenous community member goes missing.
The Lummi Nation, Nooksack Indian Tribe, and other tribal communities in Whatcom County have long advocated for improved coordination between tribal governments, local law enforcement, and state agencies when Indigenous community members go missing. Whatcom County, with its significant Indigenous population and its proximity to several tribal nations, is a region where that coordination matters enormously. The issuance of the alert for Terrence Charlie reflects the system working as intended: elevating a missing Indigenous youth's case to broad public attention rather than keeping it confined to a local law enforcement database.
In Terrence Charlie's case, the alert was issued three days after he was last seen, which reflects the timeline that investigators and family required to exhaust initial search efforts before escalating to a public notification. The specific circumstances of his disappearance, including whether he left voluntarily or under concerning conditions, were not detailed in public announcements. A 14-year-old missing for multiple days is a serious situation regardless of the initial circumstances of departure.
The Search and What Residents Can Do
Bellis Fair Mall is located in north Bellingham along Meridian Street, one of the city's main commercial corridors. The area around the mall includes bus stops served by the Whatcom Transportation Authority, gas stations, restaurants, and retail stores that attract heavy foot traffic from across the county and across the border. Investigators have likely canvassed the mall and its surroundings as part of the search effort, reviewing security camera footage and speaking with employees and regular visitors who might have noticed a teenager matching Charlie's description in the days following August 10.
For a 14-year-old who has been missing for multiple days, the priority is a safe and quick reunion with family and caregivers. If you have seen Terrence Charlie, or if you have any information about where he may have gone after leaving for the mall on Monday, please call 911. Do not attempt to detain or confront anyone on your own. Simply provide the information to law enforcement and let investigators follow up. Even details that seem minor, a brief sighting, a direction of travel, a conversation, can be meaningful to investigators building a picture of a missing person's movements.
Community members who frequent the Bellis Fair Mall area, the Guide Meridian corridor, or nearby neighborhoods like Cordata and Meridian are asked to be alert and to share the description widely. Social media sharing of missing person alerts can significantly expand the reach of searches, particularly for young people who may have traveled to parts of the city or region that investigators have not yet prioritized. Parents, teenagers, and anyone who spends time in the north Bellingham commercial area should keep Charlie's description in mind and not hesitate to call if they see someone matching it.
The Bellingham Police Department handles missing person cases within city limits and coordinates with the Washington State Patrol on alerts and broader searches. For non-emergency follow-up questions, Bellingham Police can be reached at 360-778-8800. In an emergency or if you spot Terrence Charlie, call 911 without delay. Updates on this case may also be shared by the Whatcom County Sheriff's Office if the search expands into unincorporated areas of the county, and the Washington State Patrol's missing persons page is another source for official updates as the investigation continues.
