Missing teen calls home from New York

<p>The father of a Petaluma teenager missing since Monday said he received a phone call from his son, Justin Franz, at approximately 7 p.m. Thursday evening. Justin was apparently calling from New York.</p><p>"He said that he'll be home Monday and that he's arriving by train," said Justin's father Roland Franz. "Our family was just sitting down to dinner when he called. Now we're crying tears of joy, knowing that he's ok."</p><p>Roland Franz said that as soon as the phone rang and he heard Justin's voice, he alerted Petaluma investigators, who were able to trace the two-minute phone conversation to New York. He said that Justin was apparently calling from a pay phone somewhere in the city, but that the two were disconnected before he could learn much about his whereabouts.</p><p>While police have yet to comment on the case, Justin's father said that he informed Petaluma investigators immediately, who are working with New York Police and the FBI in an attempt to locate the teen before Monday. </p><p>Justin Franz, a Casa Grande High School sophomore, has not been seen since he went to bed Sunday night at approximately 10:30 p.m. He was believed to have made plans to travel to New York to meet a Pennsylvania man he met online.</p><p>Justin's father admitted that they have been following many leads in an attempt to find their son. "It looks like Justin made it all the way across the country undetected and unnoticed," he said. "But right now we are just hoping that police intercept him before Monday."</p><p>Justin Franz is an excellent student who tutors other students and an active volunteer in the community, according to his father. He is described as approximately 5-foot-11, 140 pounds with short light brown hair.</p><p>Anyone with information about the case should please call Petaluma police at 778-4372.</p><p>(Contact Janelle Wetzstein at janelle.wetzstein@arguscourier.com)</p>