Wife of missing FBI agent pleads for public’s help
The wife of a missing FBI agent appealed for the public’s help in tracking him down Tuesday, saying in a letter that 35-year-old Stephen Ivens is “more than just a missing person.”
Authorities have been engaged in a massive manhunt since Ivens left on foot from his home in the 1700 block of Scott Road in Burbank Friday morning. He was reported missing by his family a short time later.
On Tuesday, his wife, Thea Ivens, released a personal appeal for his safe return.
“Steve, if you are out there listening right now, your wife wants to let you know, ‘Babe, we are in this together for better or for worse. I love you, no matter what happens.’ Your child wants you to know, ‘Daddy’s work? Daddy home?’”
A 40-member search-and-rescue team from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department joined about a dozen Burbank police officers and 100 FBI agents in the search for him on Saturday, but little progress has been reported in the search.
Aircrews on Monday patrolled the skies above the Verdugo Mountains, where bloodhounds had initially tracked Ivens’ scent.
Authorities are relying increasingly on air support because most of the hikable terrain has been covered, Burbank police Capt. Denis Cremins said.
“We looked at trails, and the area adjacent to the trails” in the Verdugo Mountains that people and dogs can access, Cremins said.
Authorities continue to look at cell phone records and credit card accounts and are checking with hospitals on a regular basis, he added.
An avid hiker, Ivens was believed to be carrying his handgun, although he is not considered to be a threat to anyone but himself, according to authorities.
There is an “obvious sense of urgency to find him because of the missing weapon and scenarios associated with that that could pose a threat to public safety,” Laura Eimiller of the FBI’s Los Angeles office said on Monday.
In her letter, Thea Ivens said her husband “would never hurt or be a risk to anyone.”
“He is a father, a husband, a son, a brother, a nephew, a friend and a colleague in this community,” she wrote.
The family was also in the process of creating a Facebook page to communicate with the public regarding his disappearance, she added.
Stephen Ivens has been with the FBI for more than three years and specializes in national security. He is white, 6 feet tall and weighs 160 pounds, authorities said. He has receding brown hair and wears prescription glasses.
Contact Burbank police at (818) 238-3000 or the FBI at (310) 477-6565.
-- Jason Wells, Times Community News
Twitter: @jasonbretwells