SUMNER COUNTY, Tenn. (WTVF) — A significant shift in the case of Sebastian Rogers is taking place, as authorities are now calling it an investigation.
The missing teen's mother and stepfather have spoken out publicly for the first time during the weekend. The original thinking was Sebastian Rogers walked away on his own. But the fact that he disappeared without a trace now has authorities looking at the very real possibility of foul play.
There is no security video of the teen, and there is no trace of Sebastian/
"We are used to producing, and this is one of those cases we have not been able to produce yet," said Ken Weidner, Sumner County EMA Director.
No one is giving up.
Sebastian could still be alive somewhere alone — hurt, lost or trapped.
The search effort will continue, but not the same way it was last week.
"We're scaling it back a little bit," said Weidner.
What exactly does that mean?
Sources close to the case confirm authorities are now considering foul play, and that this missing teen case could become a criminal investigation.
Sebastian's mother and stepfather broke their silence, talking about how he disappeared from their home overnight a week ago Sunday.
The two spoke on a YouTube podcast called Missing Tennessee with Dutchess.
"When I went to wake him up for school he wasn't there," said the mother.
"Between the hours of 12 and six, he has basically vanished. Walked out of the house. Door was locked. Gone," the stepfather said.
Authorities have named no suspects, and say that to date the parents have fully cooperated with the investigation.
So detectives will now reinterview and vet everyone who may have had contact with Sebastian looking for inconsistencies.
They are also asking the public to provide any Ring camera videos — not just from the Sunday evening the boy disappeared, but of anything suspicious from much earlier in the day.
Anyone with information on the case can call 1-800-TBI-FIND.
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
