North Idaho teen reported missing

The Kootenai County Sheriff’s Office is looking for a Post Falls High School senior who left home Monday and hasn’t returned. Gerard “Gerry” Hoffman, 17, left home in the Woodland Drive area in Post Falls in his 1992 green Jeep Cherokee about 4:30 p.m., the Sheriff’s Office said. Hoffman’s parents reported him missing today, after the teen didn’t return home. They feared Hoffman may have gotten lost while four-wheeling in the Wolf Lodge or Burma Road areas, and said it is not Hoffman’s character to wander off without telling his family where he is. Before he was reported missing, Spokane County Sheriff’s deputies reportedly stopped Hoffman Monday about 9:30 p.m. in Spokane Valley. It was unclear why deputies pulled him over, but Hoffman’s father said his son told authorities he was looking for a wireless internet connection in the area. He has not been heard from since. Hoffman is not considered endangered, but authorities are reporting him as a missing person. Hoffman is white, and was last seen wearing blue jeans and an unknown colored T-shirt. He is six foot tall, 135 pounds, with brown hair and blue eyes. Anyone with information regarding Hoffman’s whereabouts is asked to call the Kootenai County Sheriff’s Department at (208) 446-1300.