Barry Gutierrez / AP
Tom Sullivan , holds a photograph of his son, Alex Sullivan, as he pleads with the media to help him find his son, outside Gateway High School Friday in Aurora, Colo.
By Elizabeth Chuck, NBC News
Alex Sullivan was supposed to be celebrating his 27th birthday Friday, beginning with a midnight screening of "Batman: The Dark Knight Rises" in Aurora, Colo.
"Oh man one hour till the movie and its going to be the best BIRTHDAY ever," he tweeted before heading to the theater where a gunman opened fire at the midnight screening of "Batman: The Dark Knight Rises," killing 12 people and injuring 59.
Friends and family have not heard from him since.
"We're still hoping that he's missing somewhere and that they missed him at the hospital," Jim Schwab, Sullivan's cousin, told The Denver Post from his Rochester, N.Y., home, where he was gathered with 20 of Sullivan's other relatives.
In Colorado and across the country, friends and family members of missing moviegoers anxiously awaited word on their loved ones, hoping for good news but fearing the worst.
Ten bodies remained in the theater as of Friday afternoon, Aurora officials said at a news conference. They have not publicly identified the victims or even provided details on gender or age.
One victim, a 24-year-old aspiring sportcaster named Jessica Ghawi, was identified to the public by her brother. The Navy said one sailor who was in the theater when the shooting took place was unaccounted for, but did not release his name.
As chaos from the rampage died down and wounded victims were transported to hospitals, Sullivan's family and friends waited for word from him -- but they heard nothing.
Armed with a photo of his son, Tom Sullivan, Alex's dad, went to Gateway High School, which the town has turned into a makeshift crisis center.
"Find my son!" he yelled from the parking lot, reported Bloomberg News.
Matt McQuinn, who went to the premiere with his girlfriend, was also missing. His mother, Jerri Jackson, flew in from Ohio to try to locate him, reported The Denver Post.
"We've been trying to call that one hotline number, and we can't get through to it," Stacie McQuinn, Matt McQuinn's stepmother, told The Post. "We do know that he is not on the victims list yet."
Meanwhile, his girlfriend, Samantha Yowler, underwent surgery after taking a bullet to her leg, reported The Post. She was believed to be in fair condition.
Rosemary Ratcliff was also waiting to hear from her son. She told The New York Times that she believes her son Abdullah, 17, went to the midnight show.
"I haven't heard from him, and none of his friends are picking up their phones," she told The Times from Gateway High School.
Those who made it out of the theater described a scene of confusion when the gunman, identified as 24-year-old James Holmes, appeared at the front of the theater at 12:39 a.m. clad in bulletproof clothing.
"He shot the ceiling and then "he threw in the gas can, and then I knew it was real," witness Jennifer Seeger told TODAY.
Tanner Coon, who was in the theater with a friend and the friend's 12-year-old brother, said the shooter fired about 20 rounds and then paused, giving him time to escape.
"I slipped on some blood and landed on a lady. I shook her and said, 'We need to go.' There was no response, so I presuem seh was dead," he said.
Aurora is a suburb less than 10 miles east of Denver, with a population of about 333,000 people, just 15 miles northeast of Columbine High School, seen of the 1999 massacre in which two gunmen killed 12 fellow students and a teacher and wounded 26 others before taking their own lives.
The Red Cross has set up a Safe and Well list where victims can list themselves to let their relatives know they're alive. You can view the list here.
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