The search for missing Tennessee autistic teenager Sebastian Rogers has been called off over safety concerns for the Cajun Navy deputies deployed to find him.
The 15-year-old disappeared on February 26 after leaving the bedroom of his Hendersonville home barefoot and carrying a flashlight.
Since his disappearance, there have been several volunteers searching for the teen, but on Friday the nonprofit search and rescue organization United Cajun Navy said some of its members received threats and were forced to reduce their activities.
On Friday, the rescue group announced on Facebook that they had called off the search for Rogers and could regroup privately in the coming days.
Sebastian Rogers, 15, disappeared Feb. 26 after leaving the bedroom of his Hendersonville home barefoot and carrying a flashlight.
On Friday, the United Cajun Navy announced it was forced to suspend the public search amid continued threats, raising “safety concerns” for its team members.
Sebastian’s mother, Katie Proudfoot, and the boy’s stepfather, Chris Proudfoot, planned to leave Hendersonville and travel to Memphis to find work for Chris amid the search.
‘Today’s search for Sebastian Rogers has been called off. “Due to growing security concerns and with the upcoming Easter holidays, as of this morning the decision was made to withdraw and regroup,” the group wrote.
‘This decision was not made lightly (and was made) with the safety of all volunteers in mind. We want to thank all the volunteers who planned to go searching today.’
It comes amid news that Sebastian’s mother, Katie Proudfoot, and her husband Chris left Hendersonville to return to work in Memphis, Nancy Grace confirmed to the station.
Since the teenager went missing, the couple along with Sebastian’s father, Seth, and an army of volunteers have been searching for the boy.
The Cajun Navy, the nonprofit organization made up of volunteers with boats that formed after Hurricane Katrina to help search for survivors, has helped with search and rescue since then and even took over the search earlier this year. month.
The navy deployed drones and K9 units in an attempt to track him.
Brian Trascher, vice president of the United Cajun Navy, told Fox News Digital that two of the group’s members had received threats, although he did not go into details.
He explained that one of his A male volunteer was confronted by a man in a hotel parking lot and intimidated.
He also revealed that a A volunteer was threatened over the phone by another man. The phone recording was shared with the media.
According to the phone call, the man accuses the volunteer and another volunteer of entering his property and attracting a crowd.
He said he contacted the sheriff’s office about the incident.
A Kentuck police officer is pictured searching for Sebastian at a landfill ten days after he went missing
Search teams are looking for the autistic boy who has not been seen since he went missing on February 26.
The mysterious caller, who claimed he was calling authorities to make sure they weren’t doing anything illegal.
According to Trascher, the caller said: ‘We are informing the community about you.
“You are out of control and we as a community will make sure you get out of here.”
The volunteer claimed to have told the man that she was in the car with a local and that they were trying to turn the vehicle, which he questioned.
He also said he tried to call the man ahead of time to tell him where to park.
Trascher said the incidents raised safety concerns for his team, leading them to call off the public search. He said they will continue to search for Sebastian privately, but will not reveal where these places would be.
Amid the frantic search that is still ongoing for Sebastian, the boy’s mother told Nancy Grace that she is ‘absolutely’ worried about leaving, but doesn’t know when he will return.
Grace questioned Katie the night her son disappeared and Katie defended her leaving town. “My son could be anywhere and we are looking everywhere and anywhere,” she said.
The boy’s mother and stepfather told WSMV4’s Holly Thompson in an interview that they had been cleared in the missing child investigation, amid speculation that they may have been involved.