Authorities in two states are conducting an extensive search for a 15-year-old boy with autism from Tennessee who went missing in late February, including a search of a landfill in Kentucky.
Sebastian Wayne Drake Rogers was last seen on February 26, 2024 at his Sumner County home where he lives with his mother and stepfather, according to an Amber Alert from the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
He left the home carrying a flashlight and wearing black — a black T-shirt and black sweatpants, authorities said, WSMV reports.
The last time Sebastian’s mother, Katie Proudfoot, saw him was when she put him to bed on the night of February 25, 2024.
“When I told him to go to bed, he said, ‘I love you mommy, I love you puppies,’ and he went to bed,” she told WZTV. “I went to bed around midnight, and everything seemed fine and when I went to wake him up for school and then I couldn’t find him. He wasn’t in his room.”
Sebastian Rogers.
Tennessee Bureau of Investigation
“My first reaction was, ‘Oh, he got up and got breakfast,’ but when I realized that he wasn’t actually in the house, I never experienced pure panic,” she told the news outlet.
Katie called her husband, Chris Proudfoot, Sebastian’s stepfather, who was in Memphis for work, then called 911. She said she told police all of his shoes were still at home and the front door was locked when she disappeared, WZTV reports.
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Sebastian Rogers.
Sumner County Sheriff’s Office/ Facebook
She and Sebastian’s stepfather said they desperately hope the boy is alive, but she told WZTV, “Every day is harder than the last.”
Sebastian’s father, Seth Rogers, is also concerned. “I just want my son to come home,” he told News Channel 5. If he hears me, I want him to say to somebody, ‘I need your phone. Call 911.’ If someone has you, son, run. Run to the next person you meet. Tell them who you are. Let them find you. Let the police find you so they can bring you back to me.”
Rogers, who wears glasses, is white, 5’5”, weighs 120 pounds and has brown hair and brown eyes.
He was last seen in the Stafford Court area of Hendersonville, Tenn., according to NCMEC.
“Sebastian has a medical condition that may impair his ability to return safely without assistance,” the warning said.
The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation asked Sumner County residents, “especially around Beech High School and Long Hollow Pike, to check any place on their property where he might seek shelter.”
Since Sebastian went missing, police and volunteers have been scouring the area looking for him. Authorities searched for the boy using helicopters, drones and search and rescue dogs, WSMV reports.
Authorities searched a Kentucky landfill Thursday where garbage from Sumner County was taken, but found nothing.
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Authorities are looking for Sebastian Rogers at a Kentucky landfill.
WKRN News 2/ YouTube
Members of the Sumner County Sheriff’s Office searched the Hopkins County Ridge Porter landfill, a Kentucky State Police spokesman told PEOPLE.
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“Despite exhaustive efforts, no leads or evidence relating to the location of Sebastian Rogers was discovered during the operation,” the Sumner County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement.
He says that between 40 and 60 policemen came to the landfill “with shovels and rakes”. “They had big machines there to help them dig and two or three cadaver dogs. They were out all day yesterday but they didn’t find anything.”
“While we would have hoped for a different outcome, our commitment to finding Sebastian remains unwavering,” said Sumner County Sheriff Sonny Weatherford. “We will continue to explore all avenues and resources available to bring closure to this case and provide answers to Sebastian’s family and loved ones.”
Asking for help from the public
On March 2, the Sumner County Sheriff’s Office issued a similar appeal to the public for help in a Facebook post.
“As the search for 15-year-old Sebastian Rogers enters another critical day, here’s how you can make a crucial difference today,” it said.
The sheriff’s office asked residents to review surveillance and surveillance camera footage. “Please focus on the time frame from SUNDAY AFTERNOON TO MONDAY MORNING. We believe that even the smallest detail could be the key to locating Sebastian,” the post reads.
Anyone with information on the teenager’s whereabouts is asked to call 911 or Sumner County 911 at 615-451-3838.
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Source: HIS Education