It has been over a month since a 13-year-old boy walked away from his mom at an Arizona car wash as local authorities continue a fervent search for the missing teen who has little familiarity with the area.

Elijah Gumbus has been missing since Aug. 31 and surveillance footage from the Weiss Guys Car Wash in Maricopa County, which USA TODAY obtained, shows the moments leading up to his disappearance. The boy, who is wearing a red shirt in the video, is seen hopping out of his mother's car and jogging west.

Elijah's mother can be heard in the footage calling out his name multiple times before the video cuts off.

“There's a lot of areas there that he could have either met with somebody or taken off or hid or something like that, but at the moment, that's the only information that we had and the only surveillance that we had in the area that was able to pick him up in a direction of travel," Tolleson police Lt. Lee Garrett told KPNX.

USA TODAY contacted Tolleson police on Wednesday but has not yet received a response.

'We're extremely concerned'

As the search continues for Elijah, Garrett said the department has a "detective that is 100% dedicated to just this case at this point," KPNX reported.

“We're extremely concerned," the lieutenant said. "We're very involved."

At the time of Elijah's disappearance, his mother was driving from California to Louisiana for her work, according to Garrett, per the Arizona-based TV station. The mother and son stopped at the car wash, and while she was cleaning the vehicle, Elijah jogged away, the lieutenant said.

Neither Elijah nor his mother have ties to Arizona, which makes this case even more problematic and worrisome, Garrett told KPNX. There have been custody issues between Elijah's father and mother, but neither live in Arizona, and police have confirmed that the child is not with either of them, the TV station reported.

“What's most concerning is his age and the fact that he doesn't have ties to Arizona or any family here. We don't know how he would have connected with somebody here, or if he just simply ran away,” according to Garrett. “He's not a very big kid, so he's somebody that would stand out. He's got a very young face. So we're hoping that somebody will see this and realize that if he's on the streets, or if he's with somebody he shouldn't then they will call 911 immediately.”

Anyone with information about Elijah's whereabouts can contact the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children at 1-800-THE-LOST or Tolleson police at 1-623-936-7186.

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