Monday marks two weeks since Sebastian Rogers, an autistic teenager at the center of a statewide AMBER Alert, has been seen in Middle Tennessee.
Many community members gathered at his high school in Hendersonville, Tennessee for a prayer vigil on Sunday evening.
“I think it’s important that at the end of the day, we all remain hopeful,” a community member says. “I think there have been…miracles happen everyday.”
Sebastian’s disappearance has certainly griped hearts across Middle Tennessee and beyond.
The Sumner County Sheriff’s Office launched a massive search for the teen which lasted more than a week. Officials decided on Monday. March 4 to “scale back” ground search operations for the boy and plan to transition to the investigative side of the case, adding they have “no reason” to believe the teen isn’t alive.
Sebastian’s biological mother Katie Proudfoot and stepfather Chris Proudfoot believe he walked off in the middle of the night. No trace of Sebastian has been found by investigators by video, witness or scents picked up by any dogs since his disappearance.
Most recently, investigators combed a landfill in Kentucky on March 7, but “no leads or evidence” were found.
Dozens gathered at Beech High School in Hendersonville, near where Sebastian was last seen, just down the street from his home.
The community wore green, Sebastian’s favorite color, as they prayed together.
A statement from Sebastian’s mother was read aloud during the vigil:
“We want to let the community know that we don’t have words to express our gratitude for the support for have received in searching for our son. We pray that everyone continues to help search and pray that we find him and bring him home safe.”
Before that vigil, community members passed out flyers, hoping that any type of awareness may bring Sebastian home.
“Our community is not gonna to forget any child,” a community member said. “Not gonna forget any part of our community and that we’re here together in solidarity to be supportive of the efforts to bring him home.”
Anyone with information on Sebastian’s whereabouts should call 615-451-3838 or 1-800-TBI-FIND.
