NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — Tuesday marks one year since Sumner County teen Sebastian Rogers disappeared.
Then 15-year-old Sebastian Wayne Drake Rogers vanished from his Hendersonville home- triggering a multi-agency search with hundreds of boots on the ground.
His case gained national attention even attracting a celebrity bounty hunter to the search.
But 365 days later, Sebastian’s family and the community of Sumner County still don’t have answers.
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“To me it’s, he is going to be found,” Sebastian’s father, Seth Rogers, said about the first couple of days into the search. “It wasn’t the next couple of hours it was always the next minute.”
“A lot of us were like they are going to find this kid,” District 18 Sumner County Commissioner, Don Schmit described.
As of Tuesday night, it will mark one year since Sebastian was seen going to bed at home before going missing in the middle of the night. No one has seen him since. Sebastian’s mother reported him missing the next morning.
A TBI Endangered Child Alert was pushed out, quickly followed by a statewide AMBER Alert for the missing teen. The reports described Sebastian in the outfit he was last seen wearing (a black sweatshirt, sweatpants, and glasses) and explained that he is autistic and on medication.
A full-scale search was launched with TBI Special Agents, multiple local, state and federal law enforcement agencies including the FBI and Secret Service.
“I was out there from the time that I left here, my home in Clarksville, I would drive down there and I would stay there from 10 to 11 o’clock at night,” Seth said.
“Then hours turned into days and nights and that’s when the community was really becoming a little bit more nervous,” Schmit said.
The eight-day search began and ended with no sign of Sebastian. The case then turned into an investigation.
“We have no leads, no details to indicate that Sebastian is not alive,” the then Chief Deputy for the Sumner County Sheriff’s Office Eric Craddock said.
“For me personally, this should have been an investigation from day one as soon the phone call was made,” Seth expressed.
The Executive Director of Jacob’s Audible, a charitable organization in Middle Tennessee for parents of children with autism, told News 2 the case first caught his eye after a couple of days of Sebastian not being found.
“This one was close to home,” the Executive Director of Jacob’s Audible, Brad Meshell, said. “There was just something about it that I was like we are going to, especially when they didn’t find him after those two or three days I was like, this is definitely something we need to keep track of.”
The case quickly gained national attention with the United Cajun Navy joining in on the search efforts before pulling back.
Meanwhile, Seth continued looking. “He is the one that is missing,” Seth expressed. “He is not here. He is lost. He needs to be found and brought home.”
By September, celebrity bounty hunter Dog (Duane Chapman) joined the search for the missing teen, raising the reward for information several times from $50,000 to now $347,000.
“At AtNight, we stand unshaken: Sebastian Wayne Drake Rogers is alive. One year since he vanished, this belief drives us—every action, every resource, every step—to bring him home. Our mission is clear, our resolve absolute: Sebastian is out there, and we will find him.
With the help of Dog the Bounty Hunter, the reward stands at $347,000 for information leading to his safe return. Threats against our team have tested us, but they’ve not broken us. We press on, undeterred.“
Spokesperson for AtNight Private Intelligence / One World
“Sebastian, we’re here, and we won’t stop,” the statement from Dog’s team continued. “At AtNight, our belief in you isn’t just hope—it’s the heartbeat of everything we do. Together, we’ll bring you home.”
365 days later, the Fourth of July has come and gone. For Thanksgiving and Christmas, there was an empty seat at the table. Sebastian’s 16th birthday passed without rows of candles getting blown out followed by a birthday wish.
“Be thankful you know where your children are because I don’t know where mine is,” Seth grieved.
The Sumner County Sheriff’s Office continues to tell the public the case is still active and ongoing. Most recently, they have encouraged people to continue sending in tips but include photos as well.
“The Sheriff urges any photographic information be sent immediately, as time may be of the essence in relevant sightings. ‘Our investigators are committed to finding the truth, and we need the public’s help in sharing only credible information.”
Statement from the Sumner County Sheriff’s Office
No further updates on the case have been provided.
But many in the community still hope to one day bring Sebastian home. “We have to treat it like it happened yesterday and continue to push and push and continue to and don’t stop until we get the answers,” Meshell said.
“I have to have faith that my son is alive and I have to have faith that we are going to find him,” Seth concluded.
Anyone who has any information concerning Sebastian’s whereabouts can call Chapman’s tip line at 833-835-5364, call the Sumner County Sheriff’s Office at 615-451-3838, or contact the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation at 1-800-TBI-FIND or [email protected].
