The parents of missing Arizona teen Jarrett Brooks believe he may be being held against his will after disappearing more than a year ago.
The young cowboy disappeared on July 4, 2023 after his parents punished him for running a vehicle off the road.
The Navajo County Sheriff’s Office has been handling the investigation and discovered home security footage showing Jarrett, then 16, taking a handgun from the family safe and storing it in his waistband.
A neighboring rancher said he saw the teen crossing his pasture and police searched the area. His parents believe he met someone and left the area.
“We strongly believe that he got a vehicle to get out of that area. The dogs followed his scent across the road into the grass and he stopped there in the grass,” said his mother Laura Brooks. NewsNation Prime anchor Natasha Zouves.
Arizona teen Jarrett Brooks went missing on July 4, 2023 after his parents grounded him for driving a vehicle off the road.
Jarrett’s parents believe the teen (pictured as a child, bottom left) may be being held against his will.
“That area has been searched extensively with dogs and drones. We even had a helicopter flying over the area and they’ve searched for it numerous times since he went missing, and there’s no sign of him around. So all we have left is that he was picked up from the area.”
Laura Brooks told NewsNation that she last saw her son around 6 a.m. that July 4. When she realized he was gone about an hour later, the family began frantically searching for him.
A nearby livestock reporter saw someone matching Jarrett’s description walking through his pasture. The boy’s father, Brian Brooks, said the neighbor described him as “in a hurry.”
Home security footage showed Jarrett removing a handgun from the family safe and placing it in his waistband.
A neighboring rancher said he saw the teen crossing his pasture and police searched the area. His parents believe he met someone and left the area.
The family believes Jarrett was picked up by someone he had just met and took the gun with him as a precaution.
“He’s out there somewhere. I don’t think he’s safe and I don’t think he would have been out this long on his own,” the teen’s father said. AZ Family.
Brian Brooks dismissed concerns that his son could harm himself after investigators found footage showing Jarrett grabbing a gun.
“That wasn’t Jarrett’s mentality. He’s not that kid,” his father said.
The Navajo County Sheriff’s Office has issued multiple search warrants in different parts of Arizona in its efforts to find the teen.
On the first anniversary of her disappearance, the sheriff’s department said there were “no successful results in determining what happened to Jarrett.”
Jarrett, the middle child of seven siblings, has been described by his family as a typical teenager with a big smile and laugh.
On the first anniversary of her disappearance, the department said there were “no successful results in determining what happened to Jarrett.”
“Jarrett is a son, brother, grandson, nephew and friend. He is missed by his family, friends and community. If you have any information on Jarrett’s whereabouts, please call our office,” the sheriff’s office said.
Jarrett, the middle child of seven siblings, has been described by his family as a typical teenager with a big smile and laugh.
“He was the clown of the family,” Brian Brooks said. “He had an incredible sense of humor. He had an infectious, goofy laugh.”