Search continues for teen last seen at Michigan State University nearly 2 weeks ago

EAST LANSING, Mich. -- The search for a missing 18-year-old boy from Michigan continued Sunday.

Brendan Santo was last seen on the campus of Michigan State University almost two weeks ago.

Finding 18-year-old Brendan Santo is a top priority for police and the FBI, but missing surveillance video from Yakeley Hall, where Santo was last seen could slow things down.

"That video would give us the evidence on who he was with to approach these people to see what happened," said Ned Timmons, president of LSS Consulting and a former FBI agent.

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In a letter to Spartan families, MSU President Samuel Stanley said, "I have learned our camera at the entrance of Yakeley Hall was not operational the night Brendan was last seen."

"The video coverage of an incident is so vital to the investigation," Timmons said.

Timmons is the owner of a local security company and a former FBI agent.

"In the FBI, I worked bank robberies for several years and frequently we would go to a bank that had been robbed, go and pull the surveillance photos, and the cameras were malfunctioned and didn't work or they were unhooked. It's frustrating," he said.

Timmons said, without this video, investigators have to rely heavily on statements to find the Grand Valley State University student, who was visiting friends at MSU the weekend of the big game against Michigan.

"You're just going to have to keep interviewing and interviewing and put together all the clues," he said.

Many parents and people in the community are upset, asking how cameras at the university aren't on.

Timmons said it's not unheard of for cameras to stop working.

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President Stanley said the university is fixing the problem by installing more than 300 new cameras throughout campus within the next week.

MSU police said Santo was last seen near Michigan Avenue and Beal Street, wearing a black Red Wings baseball cap, white Converse shoes and a cross necklace.

WXYZ did reach out to Santo's parents for comment, but right now they aren't ready to talk.

"The family should rest in knowing that they've got an incredible team working on the case. They are very competent and well-trained and educated. They are going to get to the bottom of it," Timmons said.

On Sunday there was a search scheduled in East Lansing.