Missing Teen Believed To Be With Stockton Wrestling Coach
STOCKTON – A 16-year-old Stockton student who investigators believe is on the run with her high school wrestling coach has not been found.
Police said the two may be involved in more than just a teacher-student relationship. Both went missing almost a week ago.
Investigators have not released the name or a picture of the student believed to be with 25-year-old Phillip Maglaya.
A spokesperson for the Stockton Unified School District said Maglaya started volunteering just last year and had even passed a background check.
"You will never think that it would be a teacher, who would do that? A wrestling coach that went to college, just wasted his time just to get charged with kidnapping or rape or whatever he's about to get charged with, that's not cool. That's like the last person you can think that would do that," said 18-year-old, Jaron Marquez.
Maglaya signed up last year to volunteer and help the school's wrestling team. He's now wanted by police.
"They are here to protect us, and not run off with us and that just shows that some of the teachers you can't even trust and not it gives our school a bad name," Marquez said.
In a statement, a spokesperson for SUSD said "They are working closely with law enforcement to find the missing student. Safety is SUSD's most important priority. The district will continue to work with the student's family until she is found."
"This school, I've been here since the beginning and the police are right on it. They are doing their job. I think campus security is doing her job, the lady that is the monitor. She helped me out with my daughter, granddaughter my first day," said grandparent, Chaplin Mohammad.
The district said Maglaya passed background checks to be a volunteer walk-in wrestling coach. Deputies believe he and the girl are traveling together in a 1994 green Toyota extra cab truck with license plate number 8G91493.
"His head is not in the right place. He's sick, something is wrong with him. They really need to look into his brain and see what would make him snap like that on a high school campus after being given that trust," he said.
Deputies with the San Joaquin Sheriff's Office are asking anyone with information on where the girl or the coach may have gone are urged to contact the department.
