HENDERSONVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — As of Tuesday, May 7, 2024, the Sumner County Sheriff's Office has confirmed that the picture of the young boy in North Carolina is not Sebastian Rogers.
Law enforcement in Tennessee and North Carolina coordinated efforts in the ongoing search for Sebastian Rogers after a photo of a young boy began circulating online.
Authorities have now vetted the photograph taken of a teen who resembled Sebastian.
The photo was taken at a visitor center in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina a week ago Saturday.
A woman rushing to meet family took the snapshot thinking the boy resembled Sebastian and later after looking at it closely she contacted authorities.
Since then investigators worked to confirm an identity. On May 7, the Sumner County Sheriff's Office released a statement about the photograph.
Sebastian disappeared from his Hendersonville home more than two months ago, leaving barefoot in the middle of the night with nothing but a flashlight.
"This is the system we use to track all of our searchers," said Ken Weidner with with Sumner County EMA.
A massive search effort of the surrounding neighborhood found not a trace of the 15-year-old autistic boy. Detectives have not ruled out the possibility of foul play or that Sebastian was taken or left the area.
Eric Craddock, chief deputy with the Sumner County sheriff heads up the investigation.
"We are doing everything we can do...every time a tip comes down we follow up," said Craddock.
The sheriff's office and TBI have received dozen of photos and reports of potential sightings.
To date, all vetted and none confirmed. The latest tip being the photo from North Carolina.
What did Sebastian's family think of the photo? His grandmother said she is 50/50 on whether it might be him.
Tips in the Sebastian case can be sent to 1-800-TBI-FIND.
You can also check the active missing child alerts across Tennessee here.
Fostering Hope provides Christmas for kids in foster care. I'm delighted to see Fostering Hope expand this year to expand their reach to now include kids in Foster care in metro AND foster kids in East TN hard hit by Helene.
-Bree Smith
