Tennessee Amber Alert issued for missing teen out of Sumner County

Sumner County officials asked the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation to issue an Amber Alert Tuesday for a missing teenager they say has autism.

They are also asking people to keep an eye out for the boy.

"Carefully check your property… and any other locations where a child who enjoys hiding might be," the Sumner County Sheriff's Office has said.

In a Tuesday briefing shortly before the alert went out, Sumner County Sheriff's Office Chief Deputy Eric Craddock said the best thing the public can do is to keep sharing things on social media.

Tennessee's unsolved Amber Alerts: These children remain missing. What to know.

“If you see something, say something… and check your home surveillance video, just check. If you see something call us, we’ll come out and look,” he said. “I think that that’s going to be what breaks the case, is somebody’s home surveillance video seeing something. There may come a time when we call on the public to come out and help us search, but right now we have plenty of first responders on scene."

'I’m not going to say that he’s barefoot'

Fifteen-year-old Sebastian Wayne Drake Rogers was last seen on Monday "near Stafford Court in Hendersonville wearing a black sweatshirt, black sweatpants and glasses," the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation said on X.

Officials were hesitant to talk about his shoes.

“What I can say is his mom says all his shoes are accounted for at the house. I’m not going to say that he’s barefoot," Craddock said.

The boy is 5’5”, 120 pounds and has dirty blond hair.

Officials confirmed Sebastian's autism diagnosis in the Tuesday briefing, adding that it may impact how the search is conducted.

Medication thought to be out of system

“It’s definitely different looking for a child with autism,” Craddock said, noting officials are open to suggestions.

“Nothing’s off the table. I don’t care how crazy it sounds, if it’s going to help me find Sebastian and help me get him home safe to his family, I’m going to do it,” Craddock said. He plans to use, "some of the things that he likes, some of the things that he’s familiar with."

The teen likes cats, officials have said.

“We were told that his favorite song (is) Eye of the Tiger and we’ve tried playing that to calm him and let him know we’re here to help him,” Craddock said.

The teen is also taking an undisclosed medication for his autism, officials said, and that may alter how he manages his autism symptoms once it leaves his system.

“It definitely increases the volatility of the situation. The medicine was there, obviously to treat his autism, so how he responds to that once the medicine is out of his system is really not my expertise, but I do know that it’s going to have a negative effect on him,” Craddock said.

Weather is a big concern

Another issue the teen and rescuers may soon face is the weather, as temperatures are expected to drop Tuesday night.

“We don’t know exactly what he’s dressed in, and we could have some flurries tomorrow. You lose body temperature 30 times faster when you’re wet…. so we’re concerned about that,” Weidner said.

“Teenagers are resilient. We’re hoping he has enough clothes on to stay warm. He apparently doesn’t sleep a lot at night, and he’s more active at night. He probably sleeps a little more in the day, so we hope he’s laying down and resting."

Resources from across the state have poured in to aid in the search for Sebastian.

At least 10 agencies were assisting with the search Tuesday, including TBI, Tennessee Highway Patrol (THP), Metro Nashville Police, Hendersonville Police and Gallatin Police, Craddock said.

On Monday, 220 people were on the ground searching, Weidner said.

More than 150 people have conducted searches so far on Tuesday, he said.

Technical support and equipment involved in the search include helicopters from THP and Metro Nashville Police, a TBI fixed wing aircraft, 12 K-9 teams and more than 10 drones, Weidner said. There were eight mounted horse units searching Monday and 10 out on Tuesday, he said.

“We’ve actually utilized tactical teams, SWAT teams… and night vision that our operators have, and they’ve been in the field for many hours at nighttime,” Weidner said.

“If there’s a resource out there that can help us, we’ve called, and we’ve asked for it,” Craddock added.

'Check your home videos and stay rested'

Through it all, officials are continuing to cover more ground and expand the search area.

“We don’t want him to out walk the search and the ground that he can cover on foot," Weidner said. "We’re working with that, and we’re putting that into consideration when we create the areas that we search."

Several groups and individuals have reached out to Sumner officials offering their assistance in the search, and in response, the sheriff's office has asked that residents check their properties, including crawl spaces, sheds and other small areas.

“My urge to the public right now would be to check your home videos and stay rested because when the call comes, we’ll put it out on social media and that’s when we’ll need you to come,” Craddock said.

Foul play has not been ruled out, officials said.

“I will say that the family has been nothing but cooperative with us… there’s no indication of foul play at the moment," Craddock said.

Anyone with information on Sebastian's whereabouts is encouraged to contact Sumner County Sheriff's Office Detective Carter at (615) 442-1865 or bcarter@sumnersheriff.com.

Tips can be provided to Sumner County Emergency Communications at (615) 451-3838 or 1-800-TBI-FIND.

Katie Nixon can be reached at knixon@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Tennessee Amber Alert: Teen Sebastian Rogers missing in Nashville area