PLOVER, WI (WSAU) -- Jack Kelly, the 18-year-old Plover man who went missing for nearly two days this week, has broken his silence regarding the situation.
In a Tweet Thursday morning Kelly says he was not participating in some sort of "48-hour challenge" or looking for attention like some had surmised. Instead, Kelly said a lack of sleep and high amounts of stress had led him into a state of paranoia. "The best way to describe it is being trapped in a trance and having no control over yourself," said Kelly. "This led to me not eating and getting even less sleep every night as it would keep me up and worried every day."
Kelly went on to say he was seeing and hearing things that weren't really there and feeling like someone was chasing him. That led to the events of Sunday night where he described a rush of adrenaline, fear, and paranoia that hit him all at once. "I was not thinking clearly, my only thoughts were I needed to survive and get away from whoever was following me." He says that led to him taking his car and driving more than 1,000 miles over the next few days because his brain was telling him he needed to evade the "person" chasing him.
Kelly adds his memory of those two days on the road was foggy and unclear. He concluded with a plea for mental health awareness, saying "your mind will bring you to your knees if you don't pay attention to it."
Kelly is a senior at SPASH and a standout three-sport student-athlete. He has committed to playing football collegiately at Division I FCS Illinois State University in Normal.