Missing Kingsport infant found safe, father in custody


UPDATE: The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation announced that as of 12:10 a.m. Thursday that missing Kingsport infant Sephrona McCullogh had been found safe.

According to the TBI, her father, Mason McCullogh was in custody as of Thursday.

The TBI had previously issued an endangered child alert for Sephrona and stated that Mason McCullogh was wanted by police for especially aggravated kidnapping.

Sephrona was found in North Carolina, according to the TBI. The agency had previously stated she and her father were believed to be in the coastal area of the state.


KINGSPORT, Tenn. (WJHL) — Authorities are asking for the public’s help finding a missing 8-month-old from Kingsport, who is believed to be with her wanted father in North Carolina.

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation has issued an Endangered Child Alert for 8-month-old Sephrona McCullough.

The TBI believes she may be with her father, 22-year-old Mason McCullough in Topsail, North Carolina.

According to the Kingsport Police Department, Sephrona’s mother reported her missing on April 21, telling police that she had allowed Mason McCullough to take the child to North Carolina on April 14.

  • Sephrona McCullough (Photo: Kingsport Police Department)
    Sephrona McCullough (Photo: Kingsport Police Department)
  • Mason McCullough (Photo: Kingsport Police Department)
    Mason McCullough (Photo: Kingsport Police Department)

Police believe Mason and Seprona left the Lynn Garden area with an unknown male and an unknown female on April 15.

The child’s mother told police that Mason had agreed to return the child on or around April 19, but she last spoke with Mason on April 17 via a messaging app.

“Kingsport police detectives, along with agents from the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, have spent the last 48 hours attempting to locate Mason and Sephrona,” the police department said in a release. “Detectives believe that Mason is in the coastal area of North Carolina.”

TBI: Missing Jonesborough woman could be in Memphis

Mason McCullough is wanted by Kingsport police for especially aggravated kidnapping, according to the TBI.

Anyone with information on their location is asked to call the Kingsport Police Department at 423-245-3822 or the TBI at 1-800-TBI-FIND.

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