Esteban Parra

The News Journal

Law enforcement on Friday resumed its search for a missing Dover Air Force airman whose pickup truck was found on the shoulder of the Del. 1 bridge, police said.

Delaware state police and the state Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control are conducting aerial and maritime searches of the Chesapeake & Delaware Canal and surrounding areas, said Master Cpl. Mark Hoffman, a spokesman for Dover police, which is leading the missing person investigation of Senior Airman Keifer Huhman.

Huhman, 21, was last seen between 6 p.m and 6:30 p.m. Sunday leaving his home in the Blue Hen Apartments in Dover. He was operating a blue 1997 Ford Ranger with Florida tags, according to Dover police. State police found the truck and towed from the Del. 1 bridge over the C&D Canal about 10 p.m. Sunday.

The first sign that Huhman, a member of the 436th Communications Squadron, was missing came the following morning when he failed to report to duty at Dover Air Force Base. His family then filed a missing person's report with Dover police on Wednesday.

As Dover police, assisted by the state police's aviation unit, started conducting an aerial search throughout Kent County for Huhman's truck, detectives learned the truck had been towed from the bridge.

While the bridge has cameras, Hoffman said they do not record video.

Dover police are processing the truck for evidence.

Huhman's disappearance has been getting a lot of attention on social media, where people have set up the hashtag #BringKeiferHome.

Family and friends have been thankful for the efforts by police and the public, said Kerry Patton, a friend of Huhman's father, who is speaking for the family.

Patton told The News Journal on Friday that the family will be gathering this weekend to evaluate what their next step will be.

Huhman's father had flown in from Okinawa, where he is stationed. Other family were also traveling to Delaware.

"Honestly, right now we are at a loss," he previously said. "We're trying to stay focused and still hope for the best because right now it's just not good."

Patton said neither he nor Huhman's family was aware of any ongoing problems with the airman. He did say, however, that family learned a couch at Huhman's apartment had been flipped over but Patton said they are not sure why that was.

"No one knows if it's foul play or he voluntarily went missing," he said. "Nobody really knows right now."

Despite the discovery of the truck and its location, Hoffman said they continue their investigation as a missing person’s case.

Anyone with information on this case should call Dover police at (302) 736-7130 or a local law enforcement agency.

Contact Esteban Parra at (302) 324-2299, eparra@delawareonline.com or Twitter @eparra3.