UPDATE (January 25th, 2015):
The body of missing Pennsylvania teacher Christopher Tully was found Sunday in the Schuylkill River, according to NBC10. Investigators have not yet released information on how Tully died, but they are continuing the investigate.
Christopher went missing on January 6th after getting out of his parents' car near an off ramp in Philadelphia. He was the father to three young boys, and an award-winning technology teacher at the Middle Bucks Institute of Technology for the past 12 years. Tully’s family says he had been recently battling depression and had been diagnosed bipolar.
ORIGINAL ARTICLE (January 12th, 2015):
Award winning technology teacher and father of three Christopher Tully was reported missing on January 6th after getting out of his parents’ car near an off ramp in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
"It's been so many days with the weather that I am afraid," Mary Tully, Chris’s mother, told NBC affiliate NBC10. "Even though he's 40, he's still my baby and I want him to come home.”
Officials say the 40-year-old jumped out of his parents’ car along the City Avenue Bridge near East Falls. Family members said Christopher has been battling depression and has been diagnosed bipolar. Eddie Tully, Christopher's older brother, told Dateline his brother didn't have a history of mental illness, and was only recently suffering.
Since the morning of the 6th, police say his cell phone has been turned off, and none of his credit cards have been used. Eddie said regardless, the family isn't giving up hope his brother is out there.
"He's the epitome of a dad. He coached every sport his boys wanted to do, and when he wasn't out doing that, he was just playing with his kids," Eddie told Dateline. "They were the biggest part of his life outside of teaching."
“We miss him, we love him,” C.J. Tully, Christopher’s 12 year old son, said. “We want him to come home.”
Christopher has been a teacher at Middle Bucks Institute of Technology for the past 12 years. His work at the school earned him an outstanding teaching award from the Pennsylvania Association for Career and Technical Education.
"He's helped hundred, maybe thousands of kids. It's been so touching seeing what his current and former classes have put out there," Eddie said. "Teaching really is a big passion for him."
The Facebook page ‘Help Find Christopher Tully’ has gathered more than four thousand likes, and the hash tag #findtully is gaining traction on Twitter. The family has also started a website, Helpfindtully.com, in hope of keeping the public updated on the case.
Tully was last seen wearing a black coat, jeans, and sneakers. He is described as 5'10" tall, 180 pounds with a medium build, dark hair and brown eyes. If you have any information that could help in the case, please contact the Philadelphia Police Department at (215) 686-3013.
The Tully family said they are offering a $7,000 reward for information that leads to bringing Christopher home.