FT. LEONARD WOOD, Mo. – It’s now been more than three weeks since a Marine from Ft. Leonard Wood went missing.

Kavian Elder, 19, was last seen on May 3. Elder was completing the last phase of his specialty training for the U.S. Marine Corps at Ft. Leonard Wood, a military training institution about 140 miles from St. Louis.

Elder is considered absent without leave.

His father, Fred Elder, lives in Memphis, Tennessee. He traveled to Missouri this weekend, determined to do what he can to find his son.

Fred has been handing out flyers with his son’s photo and pleading for anyone with information to come forward.

Anyone with information about Kavian Elder’s location can call the Ft. Leonard Wood Criminal Investigative Division at 573-596-0696.

Earlier in the week, Elder told our news partners in Memphis he had this message for his son: “You have to face up to what you done but I will be there with you and in hand…step for step with you to deal with this situation overall.”