Latest news with #SethRogers
Yahoo
24-05-2025
- Yahoo
Missing teen's father demands answers from Sumner County Sheriff's Office for ‘lack of communication'
SUMMER COUNTY, Tenn. (WKRN) — It's been almost 15 months since Sumner County teen Sebastian Rogers disappeared. His case made national headlines, but his father said the search is losing momentum ahead of National Missing Children's Day. 'He is my world. I need him,' Sebastian's father, Seth Rogers, said. 'I need him back with me.' On Friday, May 23, Seth spoke with News 2 at the Sumner County Sheriff's Office. Frustrated and emotional, he said he feels like he's carrying the weight of the investigation alone. 'I don't even know, if a tip comes in, if I shouldn't track it down because I don't know if they can do their job properly because so far, they haven't…Their lack of communication with the public, their lack of communication with me is all telling me that they don't care that my son is missing,' Seth explained. MAY 2025 | YouTubers covering the case of a missing Sumner County teen win some legal battles Sebastian is one of an estimated 460,000 children reported missing every year in the U.S., according to the FBI. Sebastian was just 15 years old when he vanished from his Hendersonville home in February 2024. Initial search efforts involved local law enforcement, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, and the FBI, but those physical searches have since shifted to focus on the investigative side. The last press conference on the case was more than a year ago. 'I would love to see them actually conducting more searches,' Seth said. 'I'd like to have some communication on the tips that have come in, just with me, so that I know that when a tip comes in, I'm not following up on the job they're supposed to do.' FEBRUARY 2025 | 'We are going to find him': Sumner County teen Sebastian Rogers missing for one year 'I'm trying to find my son,' he added. 'They are trying to solve a case. You can't solve a case if you don't find my son.' Seth told News 2 only one detective is actively assigned to the case, adding that he is often left to chase down the same leads also sent to law enforcement. 'We need more than just one set of eyes on this case,' Sebastian's father said. 'It all falls on my shoulders to ask people to help find my son,' Seth continued. 'My son means something to me. These people should be doing their job.' DECEMBER 2024 | Search for Sebastian Rogers captivates Middle TN and social media throughout 2024 News 2 reached out to the sheriff's office, which provided the following statement: First and foremost, our thoughts remain with Sebastian Rogers. I want to assure the community that this investigation remains a top priority for the Sumner County Sheriff's Office. We are aware of the community's concerns. Please know that behind the scenes, a tremendous amount of work has been done and will continue. Some aspects of the investigation are not be visible to the public due to the sensitive nature of the case. We continue to ask for the public's help. If you know something — no matter how small it may seem — please come forward. Every tip matters. Thank you for your continued support, patience, and care for Sebastian. DECEMBER 2024 | Father of missing Sumner County teen says he has renewed faith in law enforcement investigation In his push for progress, Seth said he has contacted lawmakers and is even drafting federal legislation aimed at reforming how child protection agencies and the AMBER Alert system handle missing child cases. 'It's a federal oversight law on places like CPS, DCS, the AMBER Alert, getting it redone and taking out of people's hands that don't care about the children,' Seth said. Out of the roughly 460,000 children who are reported missing in the U.S. every year, Seth told News 2 that every one of those cases deserves attention — including Sebastian's. 'A parent demands answers. We demand answers because our heart is missing,' Seth said. ⏩ , 15, was reported missing on Feb. 25, 2024 from the Beech area in Hendersonville. Sebastian is 5 feet, 5 inches tall, 120 pounds with dirty blond hair. He was last seen on Monday, Feb. 26 near Stafford Court wearing a black sweatshirt and black sweatpants, said the TBI. The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) originally issued an Endangered Child Alert for Sebastian on the morning of Feb. 26 as multiple agencies took to the area to look for him. Based on additional investigative information developed during the search, the TBI issued an AMBER Alert for Sebastian on the afternoon of Feb. 27. An AMBER Alert is issued when there is reasonable belief by law enforcement that an abduction has occurred and the child is in imminent danger of serious bodily injury or death, per the DOJ. Multiple agencies including the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, Tennessee Highway Patrol, Nashville Fire Department, City of Hendersonville's first responders, Sumner County Sheriff's Office and Shackle Island Volunteer Fire have assisted in the search for Sebastian. If you have seen Sebastian or have info about his whereabouts, call the Sumner County Sheriff's Office at (615) 451-3838 or TBI at 1-800-TBI-FIND. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Daily Mail
13-05-2025
- Daily Mail
Toxic war breaks out between parents of missing autistic teen and internet sleuths hunting to find him
A toxic legal war has broken out between the parents of missing autistic teen Sebastian Rogers and internet sleuths hunting to find him. Sebastian, 15, was last seen on February 25, 2024 at his home in Hendersonville, Tennessee. Interest quickly grew in his case, leading many internet personalities and social media influencers to weigh in on what they think happened to the missing teenager. Their fascination with his mysterious disappearance quickly caught the attention of Sebastian's mother Katie, stepfather Chris Proudfoot, and his biological father Seth - leading them to sue three YouTubers who shared theories about their son's case. In August 2024, Katie filed an order of protection against Andra Griffin, also known as 'Bullhorn Betty' on YouTube and TikTok, alleging that her large social media following aided her in stalking her and her family. Katie also alleged that Griffin accused her and Chris of harming Sebastian and called the YouTuber 'dangerous,' the filing, obtained by WKRN, said. 'I've never talked to these people. I've never tried to interview these people. I've never knocked on their door,' Griffin told the outlet. On Friday, a grand jury in Sumner County decided not to indict Griffin citing lack of evidence in the case. Meanwhile, in October, Sebastian's father Seth, Dog The Bounty Hunter, and seven others sued two others, Stephanie Trude and Jessica Seng in Pennsylvania. They also filed injunctions against 50 unnamed people for harassment and endangering their safety, records showed. Seng run's the YouTube channel 'Granny's Watching', while Trude is known online as 'BBQ Lady.' A judge later dismissed the case against them, stating that there is a higher bar for them to reach in defamation cases as public figures, according to legal documents. The judge also ordered Sebastian's father, Dog the Bounty Hunter and the unidentified seven others pay the YouTuber's legal fees. 'There is so much drama and different avenues for people to go down that it surpasses just the idea that a child vanished,' Seng said. Trude called the entire legal ordeal and lawsuit 'frivolous' and said it took away from the search of the missing teenager. 'Nobody should ever entertain a frivolous lawsuit against people who just don't agree with your opinions, and that's really what I think it boils down to,' she explained. 'Just the worst part is that it is all on the back of a missing child.' Griffin, who describes herself as a 'victim right activist/advocate' who covers cases to 'help in the search of those missing and/or presumed dead,' has been left furious by Katie and Chris's attempt to try and take away her freedom of speech. 'When it comes to my speech, it has emboldened me more because it anchored me,' she stated. 'Like how dare someone trample on my freedom of speech? I'm from Florida, and this is a public interest case, and I'm entitled to my opinions.' Although the legal drama is over, Trude told the outlet she has been left conflicted about whether she wants to continue to use her platform to 'raise awareness.' 'It has made me never want to help use my platform to raise awareness because this has obviously cost an enormous financial impact on us both, and we were spreading awareness, doing our due diligence,' she said of her and Seng. News of the YouTuber's legal wins against Sebastian's family comes about a month after newly released video footage provided a vital clue in the search for him. Video obtained by private investigator Steve Fischer, working with Sebastian's mother and stepfather, showed a figure appear at 12.17am on the night of his disappearance. The footage was from a street located a single block from Sebastian's Sumner County home, prompting investigators to believe it may hold critical information. The surveillance clip also captured a dog walker passing by shortly before the unidentified figure. 'It's definitely a person,' said Fischer. 'It looks like a thin person wearing dark clothing walks down south on Kellyn Lane behind a vehicle. And it appears like he or she is trying to stay out of eyesight of the person walking their dog. 'They go behind this car for a little while then they turn around and come back the same way they came from.' The block is adjacent to a construction site where search dogs had previously indicated a potential lead. Private investigator Fischer, who enhanced the video for clarity, confirmed that it has been passed on to law enforcement. He acknowledged, however, that identifying the figure is unlikely. 'It took three times watching all the video, before we found that,' said Fischer. The Sumner County Sheriff's Office (SCSO), which is working with the TBI and FBI, maintains there have been no confirmed sightings or significant leads in Sebastian Rogers' disappearance.
