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About Daniel

Daniel Ted Yuen was born on August 20, 1987, to his parents, Wayne and Lisa Yuen. He would become a big brother when his younger sister, Selena, was born four years later. In an interview with ABC News as an adult, Selena looked up to him and described him as “kind, supportive, [and] very loyal to his friends.”

Little is known about Daniel’s early life, but by the time he was in high school, he lived in Edison, New Jersey with his parents and younger sister. He seemed to be going through a rough patch, especially during his sophomore year of high school. By December 2003, he and his girlfriend broke up, he developed a pattern of running away from home, and he stopped attending his home high school.

Image Courtesy of The Charley Project

Concerned that their son might have depression, Wayne and Lisa took him to multiple psychiatrists to get support. It was confirmed that he had depression, and one of these psychiatrists recommended the Cedu School, a therapeutic boarding school for troubled youth in Running Springs, California.

His parents agreed to enroll him in the Cedu school, and by January 2004, he began classes. Almost from the start, Daniel was unhappy at the school. He told his parents he was scared of the other students and threatened to run away.

The Cedu School had its share of controversies while it was in operation. It emerged in the mid-1960s as an offshoot of Synanon, a self-help cult. By the early 2000s, it was marketed as “the nation’s first emotional growth boarding school.” In reality, it was a for-profit residential treatment facility. Despite the narrative it tried to spin, its four decades of operation were plagued by child abuse, misconduct, and cult-like behavior. Several former students came forward years later with allegations of forced physical labor, “therapies” that resulted in complete emotional breakdowns, and sexualized group “cuddling” among staff and minors. Many were also completely stripped of their autonomy and weren’t allowed to use phones, cutting them off completely from the outside world.

Thirteen days after Daniel arrived at The Cedu School, he would disappear.

Image Courtesy of The Charley Project

Disappearance and Investigation

Little is known about the circumstances surrounding Daniel’s disappearance. According to The Charley Project, he left the school on February 8, 2004, at 10:45 AM to buy cigarettes, but he never returned. He didn’t take any belongings or identification when he left. When he couldn’t be found, the school reported him as a runaway to the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Office.

Later that morning, his parents received a phone call from the school, saying their son had run away. They boarded a plane and flew back to California to search for their son. At the time, they believed he would be found quickly, so they weren’t overly concerned about placing blame. Their focus was on finding their son.

Image Courtesy of The Charley Project

In addition, the school had a private investigator named Keith Raymond search for the young man. He was outspoken in his criticism of the school, saying that the staff issued harsh and controversial punishments. However, the police reported that there was nothing in Daniel’s missing persons report that made them suspicious of school staff.

The authorities did their best to search for him, but it was a struggle, as they didn’t have much information to work with.

That said, there were some leads. One month after his disappearance, witnesses reported a possible sighting at the Hilltop Community Park in San Diego, California. Thinking it could be Daniel, Keith brought scent dogs to the park. The dogs picked up his scent and confirmed he was in the area, but even with the help of volunteers, further searches failed to locate him or any evidence he was in the area.

Image Courtesy of The Charley Project

The next lead didn’t come until 2018. In December of that year, Keith received a voicemail from an unknown individual who stated,

Daniel Yuen is fine, Daniel Yuen is still in the same area where you originally searched. He doesn’t want you or his parents looking for him.”

Thinking he had finally caught a break, Keith returned to San Diego and searched Hilltop Community Park, the same one he searched back in 2004. He also showed an age-progressed photo to the park employees, one of whom thought she recognized the young man.

According to the employee, a man matching Daniel’s description had been in the park the same day Keith arrived, and he was accompanied by a white woman and a baby girl. When the employee asked the man where he lived, he got nervous and left with the baby. Keith spoke with more eyewitnesses and confirmed the employee’s story. Despite this promising lead, they were unable to confirm if this man was Daniel or locate him.

Image Courtesy of The Charley Project

The last lead came in 2019. A hairstylist who saw Daniel’s age-progressed photo thought he saw him come into his salon. Thinking this might lead to answers, his parents flew back to California to search for Daniel. Unfortunately, this lead dried up, as the man never returned to the salon, and the stylist didn’t know anything more about the young man.

Since then, Daniel’s family has kept searching for him, desperate to find out if he’s okay. His parents have emphasized that he’s not in trouble with them or the police. They only wish to verify that he’s safe and healthy. As of this writing, the disappearance of Daniel Ted Yuen remains unsolved.

Image Courtesy of The Charley Project

My Thoughts

The disappearance of Daniel Yuen is mysterious and baffling. A young man struggling with his mental health is enrolled in a boarding school to receive the help he needs, only to disappear less than two weeks after his arrival. At first, it was assumed that he had ran away. Then the truth about The Cedu School surfaced.

As mentioned earlier, former Cedu students came forward years later to disclose the abuse and inappropriate behavior they experienced. Unfortunately, these problems are not unique to The Cedu School. These issues are widespread in similar programs that make up the “Troubled Teen” industry. This largely unregulated industry charges parents thousands of dollars to fix their kids’ mental health issues. In theory, it sounds great, but too often, it leads to stories of abuse, neglect, and cover-ups.

Paris Hilton came forward with stories of her experiences in these facilities in 2021, and she’s done a lot of advocacy work to bring the issues with the Troubled Teen Industry to light. You can learn more about her work and the Troubled Teen Industry by clicking here.

When looking into this case, people generally believe one of two theories:

1. Daniel ran away.
2. Daniel was the victim of foul play, likely by someone connected to The Cedu School.

Let’s examine these one by one.

For starters, we have the theory that Daniel ran away. This tends to be the default theory when teenagers and adults disappear, and it might make sense in this case. After all, he told his parents he was scared of the other students and threatened to run away, and there were a few sightings of him after he disappeared. Even before he was enrolled, he had a history of running away.

However, he didn’t take any belongings with him. If he truly wanted to run away, he probably would’ve brought money, food, clothes, or sentimental items. From all reports, he didn’t bring anything with him. Unless he had help, he wouldn’t have lasted long. But if we introduce another person into this situation, that invites more questions. For example, if someone helped him run away, why didn’t the authorities find any evidence? How has this person slipped under the radar for over 20 years and not told anyone?

It’s possible he ran away and somehow stayed under the radar all this time, but I don’t think it’s likely. While we can’t rule it out completely, I believe we can set this theory aside for now.

The last theory is that Daniel was the victim of foul play, likely caused by someone connected to The Cedu School. As mentioned earlier, the school had its share of abuse, neglect, inappropriate behavior, and cover-ups. Interestingly, Daniel was not the only student to disappear from The Cedu School. Two other students, Blake Pursley and John Inman, disappeared in 1994 and 1993, respectively. To this day, neither of these boys has been found, but it’s indicative of the widespread problems in the school, which closed in 2005 after a series of lawsuits.

Given the amount of stories of abuse, it’s possible Daniel could’ve experienced something like that at the hands of students and staff. This could be a case of abuse that was taken too far. It would explain why Daniel never reached out to his loved ones and was never found.

The interesting thing is that so many students disappeared from the school, not just Daniel. Disappearances are relatively rare. On average, about 600,000 people disappear in the U.S. every year, and the vast majority are resolved. It’s very unlikely to have a single unsolved disappearance, never mind three connected to the same institution. The fact that three students disappeared from the same school and none of them have been found sets off alarm bells for me. We don’t have any evidence of wrongdoing, but it’s worth taking another look at the employees and students who were there in 2004. At a minimum, they might have memories that could generate more leads.

The only problem is that we don’t have any evidence to support either theory. Such little information exists about this case, and you can argue that either theory is correct. Unfortunately, without new evidence, someone coming forward, or Daniel being found, there’s unlikely to ever be a resolution to this case.

Daniel Ted Yuen was a good kid who hit a rough patch. His parents enrolled him in The Cedu School to get him help with his depression, never imagining that he would disappear. Since then, his family has held out hope that he will be found. They’ve emphasized that he’s not in trouble with them or the police; they merely want to ensure his safety and well-being. May this case receive a resolution, and may his family receive answers.

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If you’re looking for more information about the disappearance of Daniel Ted Yuen, there are several articles, but there’s not a lot of information. The following sources helped me as I wrote this post:

• The Charley Project
• The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children
• Los Angeles Magazine: Inside Daniel Yuen’s Missing Person Case
• ABC News
• The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children: Two Decades Without Daniel
• Los Angeles Magazine: Are Police Stifling the Investigation?

If you have any information about the disappearance of Daniel Ted Yuen, please contact the San Bernardino County Sherrif’s Office at 1-909-387-8313. You can also contact the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children at 1-800-843-5678.

What do you think happened? Let me know in the comments.