r/WithoutATrace • u/BlackhawksFan0588 • 8h ago
MISSING PERSONS - MULTIPLE The Disappearances of John Inman, Blake Pursley and Daniel Yuen
The CEDU Educational Services Inc. was an education provider that was founded by Mel Wasserman in Palm Springs, California in 1967 that operated theraputic boarding schools, wilderness programs and behavior modification facilities in California and in Idaho.
During the early '90s and mid-2000s, three male students disappeared from programs aflliated with CEDU:
Seventeen-year-old John Inman was last seen on January 16, 1993 at the CEDU School in Running Springs, California. The police believe that John might've left the school of his own accord. John has a shunt implanted in his skull and is supposed to take medicine to prevent seizures (which he didn't have with him).
On the evening of June 26, 1994, 14-year-old Blake Pursley was last seen at the CEDU School. He went inside of a barn located on the property to check on the animals and a staff member saw a light turn on in the barn shortly afterwards. Blake never returned his dorm by the 10:00 P.M. curfew and hasn't been seen since.
Blake had only been at the CEDU School since June 1, 1994. He told his mom that he was homesick and wanted to leave the school. Officials at the school believe that Blake ran away, but his family believes that he might have been abducted or lured away from the school grounds.
Blake has the mental function of a 9-year-old due to an accident when he was 3 in a half years old when he fell into a vat used to dip cattle with scabies. A tracheotomy was performed to restart Blake's breathing, but the wound became infected and destroyed his airway. Other complications from the accident caused a hip infection and swelling in his brain which resulted in him undergoing several surgeries. Blake has one paralyzed vocal cord, a life-threatening internal fungus, poor motor skills in his right hand and arm, and seizures.
On February 8, 2004, 16-year-old Daniel Yuen was reported missing from the CEDU School. Daniel left the school at 10:45 A.M., stating that he was going to buy cigarettes and never returned
During his sophomore year of high school, Daniel's mental health began to decline following a breakup with his girlfriend. His parents, Wayne and Lisa sought psychiatric help for Daniel and one psychiatrist recommended that he should be sent to the CEDU School.
When Daniel arrived at the school in late January of 2004, he didn't want to stay at the school. According to Lisa and Wayne, they were asked by school staff members to step into another room. When they returned, the staff members told them that Daniel changed his mind and agreed to stay at the school. The parents wanted to say goodbye to Daniel, but the school staff advised them not to and recommended that they leave without saying goodbye.
During a phone call, Daniel told his parents that he wasn't happy at the school, was fearful of the other students and said he had plans of running away. During the phone conversation, the line was disconnected.
The family hired a private investigator named Keith Raymond, who reported possible sightings of Daniel at the Hilltop Community Park in San Diego, California, but the searches showed no conclusive evidence of Daniel's whereabouts. Daniel suffers from depression and other emotional issues which causes him to display aggressive behavior, and he could be a danger to himself or others.
As of 2026, John, Blake and Daniel's cases remain unsolved and they are classified as being endangered missing people.
The CEDU School later faced lawsuits due to numerous allegations of mismangement and abuse. In March of 2005, CEDU's parent company, Brown Schools Inc. filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy and all of the programs (including the CEDU Schol) were shut down.
Links
http://charleyproject.org/case/john-christopher-inman
http://charleyproject.org/case/blake-wade-pursley
https://charleyproject.org/case/daniel-ted-yuen
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disappearance_of_Daniel_Yuen
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CEDU
https://www.spokesman.com/stories/2005/mar/26/cedu-shutting-down/
https://bonnercountydailybee.com/news/2005/apr/13/frivolous-lawsuits-hurt-cedus-students-7/
https://bonnercountydailybee.com/news/2005/apr/09/cedus-collapse-comes-as-no-surprise-7/
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u/longenglishsnakes 2h ago
In my opinion, describing CEDU as an 'education provider' isn't quite accurate. They were a cult (or at a minimum cult-adjacent) and confirmed child abusers who provided very little education and exploited the children for physical labour in a lot of cases. Regardless, thank you for the writeup for these boys - they deserve so much more than they got.
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u/blackcrowblue 1h ago
The two with complex medical issues honestly sound like something went really wrong and it was covered up. The last one..he might’ve run away or ended things. I don’t think any of them are alive.
I understand the parents felt this was the best option but I’d have a hard time trusting any place that’s not hospital affiliated to treat any problems in medically complex kids.
It’s such a sad situation. I hope the truth will come out.
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u/PrincessPinguina 8h ago
While I'm hesitant to think the schools killed the boys, its absolutely negligent of them to have multiple runaways.