The ongoing search for the missing autistic Tennessee teen, Sebastian Rogers, has been stopped over safety concerns for the Cajun Navy helpers who were assisting in the search.
A 15-year-old boy disappeared on February 26 after leaving his Hendersonville home without shoes and carrying a flashlight.
Search for Missing Tennessee Teen Halted Due to Threats
Many volunteers have been searching for the kid since he vanished, but the United Cajun Navy, a nonprofit search and rescue organization, said on Friday that some of its members had been forced to back down due to threats.
The search team said on Facebook on Friday that they had given up looking for Rogers and could meet secretly over the following few days.
Today's search for Sebastian Rogers has been called off. Due to increasing security concerns and the upcoming Easter holiday, the decision has been made as of this morning to pull back and regroup," the group said on Facebook.
This decision was not taken lightly [and was] made with the safety of all volunteers in mind. We want to thank all the volunteers that planned to be out searching today."
This choice was not made hastily; every volunteer's safety was considered before it was made. We express our gratitude to all of the volunteers who agreed to participate in today's hunt.
It corresponds with the news that Katie Proudfoot, Sebastian's mother, and her husband, Chris, have admitted to broadcaster Nancy Grace that they are leaving Hendersonville and returning to work in Memphis.
Sebastian's father, Seth, the couple, and a horde of volunteers have been looking for the kid ever since he disappeared.
The United Cajun Navy's vice-president, Brian Trascher, tells Fox News Digital that two of the group's members have received threats, however the post did not go into detail about them.
According to Trascher, a guy approached and threatened a male volunteer in a hotel parking lot. Trascher says that a second individual threatened a female volunteer over the phone; he recorded it and provided it to Fox News Digital.
On the recording, the man phones the female volunteer and accuses her and another volunteer of driving onto his land and gathering people. He claims to have spoken with the sheriff's office about the incident, according to Daily Mail.
Search for Sebastian Rogers
Additional information provided by the female volunteer indicates that the individual with whom she was in the car at the time was a local and that the vehicle in question was attempting to make a U-turn. She said she had attempted to call the man in advance to ask for advice on parking.
According to Trascher, the public search has been canceled since his team feels uneasy about their safety due to the severity of the occurrences. They won't share the search areas; they will just keep looking for Rogers privately.
Trascher said the caller claimed, 'We are letting the community know about you. 'You guys are just out of control and we as a community are going to make sure you guys get out of here.'
She said that she made an effort to get in contact with the man earlier to ask for advice about parking.
Trascher said the incidents had increased his team's safety worries, which is why they decided to cancel the public search. He pledged to keep looking for Sebastian secretly but wouldn't say where they would be looking.
Sebastian's mother told Nancy Grace that although she is "absolutely" worried about leaving, she is unsure of when she will return, given the hectic hunt for her son.
The night her son disappeared, Grace questioned Katie, and she justified going out of town. "We're searching everywhere and anywhere, and my son could be anywhere," she added.
Sebastian is a Caucasian man with brown hair and brown eyes who weighs 120 pounds and is 5 feet, 5 inches tall. When last spotted, he donned black sweatpants, a black hoodie, and glasses.
Anyone with information is asked to contact the TBI at 1-800-TBI-FIND or the Sumner County Emergency Communications Center at 615-451-3838, Fox News reported.
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