COOPERSVILLE, MI -- More than a hundred volunteers again took to fields and woods near Coopersville to search for a teen missing since New Year’s Day.

It was the second time since Jan. 2 that people gathered to help the family of 18-year-old Hunter Klompstra. Some rode horses as part of Tuesday’s search effort.

Klompstra went missing after leaving a party at a friend’s house in the 6100 block of Leonard Street about 2 a.m. Jan. 1. He left on foot.

“My aunt and uncle, they’re desperate for answers,” said Cylee McClary, a cousin of Klompstra.

“He told his parents that he would be home and then, the next morning he didn’t show up and they couldn’t get a hold of him. They finally called the police to report him missing and they’ve been searching ever since,” she said.

She said Klompstra got a ride to the party from friends and everyone who went was supposed to spend the night there. She didn’t know why he left.

McClary said it’s uncharacteristic for Klompstra to not be in touch with family.

The search Tuesday started near a cell phone tower off 48th Avenue north of Leonard Street. According to family, the last signal from Klompstra’s cell phone came within 1.7 miles of the tower.

At least 20 people on horseback joined in Tuesday’s search, as well as volunteers equipped with metal detectors.

McClary said he was wearing eyeglasses, carrying a pocket knife and also had the cell phone.

She urged anyone with information about Klompstra to call police or Silent Observer. She questioned whether anyone might be withholding information because the party may have involved underage drinking.

Police already have searched extensively for Klompstra since he was reported missing on the evening of Jan. 1. They coordinated the Jan. 2 search where volunteers staged at Klompstra’s workplace, Gull Lake Marine. The searching has involved tracking dogs, a helicopter, drones and a dive team checking the nearby Grand River for any sign.

Klompstra was a graduate of Coopersville Schools, was learning welding and loved his job, McClary said.

“He had so many plans for his future,” she said.

Family members have hope that Klompstra will be found alive, but say they want answers to his disappearance even if the outcome is tragic.

Among the volunteer searchers Tuesday was Wyoming resident John Burri.

“I know the grief that goes with a loss like this,” he said. “If there is something we can do to help, I want to.”

Burri’s son, Army Spc. Eric Burri, 21, died in 2005 when a roadside bomb exploded near his vehicle in Baghdad.