Brandon Crisp is shown in a family photo. Barrie police continued their search Wednesday for the 15-year-old, who has been missing since Thanksgiving. (Barrie Examiner/Canadian Press)With the 10-day search for a missing Ontario teen gaining urgency amid colder weather, local police confirmed Wednesday that a woman spoke to the boy the day he went missing after an argument with his parents.

A woman has come forward saying she spoke with 15-year-old Brandon Crisp of Barrie, Ont., on Oct. 13 and noticed he was having trouble with his bike, said Sgt. Dave Goodbrand of the Barrie Police Service.

Police found the abandoned bicycle Monday in a ditch northeast of the city in Shanty Bay, Ont., a few kilometres from his home.

"We've confirmed that a person walking in the area on the path on the day he was missing did, in fact, speak to him and confirms that he was here, and he was having problems with his bike at the time," Goodbrand said.

"We're focusing [the search] here because it's really the only concrete evidence we have to his possible whereabouts."

The teen's father, Steve Crisp, said Wednesday the information provided by the woman gave investigators a little more information as to his son's whereabouts.

"He'd left his bike in a ditch and carried on walking along the Oro-Medonte rail trail, and he told the lady he was heading towards the third line," he said.

"There have been no other sightings or contact from him or friends or anything."

Teen fled after dispute over gaming: parents

The teen's parents said he ran away from home after arguing with them over the amount of time he spent playing an Xbox videogame.

Steve and Angelika Crisp revoked the teen's videogame privileges on Oct. 13 – something they said they had done numerous times before.

They said he had been spending too much time playing Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, an online war game.

On Tuesday, Steve Crisp told reporters he believed it was possible that his son may have been lured by someone he befriended online through the game.

Goodbrand said a background investigation is also continuing.

"We're still involved in the schools and working with the schools and the students and their social networks to see if any information is coming through, and we're also still analyzing the computer and Xbox," he said.

Police were also canvassing area residents and motorists.

With files from the Canadian Press