AMBER Alert: Day 2 of search for missing Sumner County teen

HENDERSONVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — The search for a teenager missing from Hendersonville has now stretched on two days, with authorities urgently trying to find him before colder weather moves into the area.

Sebastian Wayne Drake Rogers, 15, was reported missing on Monday, Feb. 26 from the Beech area in Hendersonville. The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) issued an Endangered Child Alert for Sebastian that morning as multiple agencies took to the area to look for him.

“We were told that his favorite song was ‘Eye of The Tiger,'” Deputy Chief Eric Craddock with The Sumner County Sheriff’s Department said. “We tried playing that to kind of call him and let him know we’re here to help. I’m sure that he could see what’s going on here and be intimidated. But if he sees this newscast, I want him to know: Sebastian come out we’re here to help you. We just wanna get you home safe.”

Based on additional investigative information developed during the search, the TBI issued an AMBER Alert for Sebastian Tuesday afternoon. An AMBER alert is issued when there is reasonable belief by law enforcement that an abduction has occurred and the child is in imminent danger of serious bodily injury or death, per the DOJ.

WATCH: Tuesday afternoon update on search missing teen in Sumner County

Sumner County EMA Director Ken Weidner said there were over 200 searchers on the ground on Monday, with multiple K-9 teams, mounted units, helicopter crews and even drones being deployed. The teams have since covered a five-mile radius in the Beech and Shackle Island area.

“Apparently he doesn’t sleep a lot at night and he’s more active at night,” EMA director Ken Weidner said. “He’ll probably sleep some more in the day, so we hope he’s laying down and resting and we just don’t want him to outwalk the search. The ground that he can cover on foot, we know and we’re working with that. We’re putting that into consideration when we create the areas that we search.”

However, on Tuesday afternoon, Craddock said there was still no sign of Sebastian. Multiple agencies remained on scene Tuesday as the search continued, with officials urging people in the area to check their surveillance cameras.

“Yesterday we, for lack of a better term, we threw everything that we could possibly throw at this. We absolutely obliterated covering the area where Sebastian could have walked off to,” Craddock said. “There’s a litany of things that could have happened to Sebastian and none of them we could presume are credible or validate yet, so we’re doing everything we can.”

Craddock said authorities have received several tips over the course of the search and are looking into every possible lead, including a potential sighting on Newmans Trail off Long Hollow Pike, but so far none of those tips have panned out.

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Some community members have also shared advice on searching for children with autism, prompting officials to employ some unique tactics such as playing Sebastian’s favorite song, “Eye of the Tiger” to help calm him.

“We’ve had several calls from people with autistic relatives who have told us, ‘Hey, have you thought about this?’ There’s nothing off the table,” Craddock said. “I don’t care how crazy it sounds, if it’s going to help me find Sebastian and get him home to his family, I’m going to do it.”

The urgency of the search is continuing to increase as Craddock said Sebastian is without his medication and his mom has told officials that “all of his shoes are accounted for at his house.”

“It definitely increases the volatility of the situation,” Craddock said. According to Weidner, the temperature is also expected to drop on Wednesday, adding more potential dangers.

“We’re concerned about the weather because we don’t know exactly what he’s dressed in and we could have some flurries tomorrow,” Weidner said. “The storm, so the wet, and you lose body temperature 30 times faster when you’re wet than when you’re dry.”

Gusty winds, few strong storms possible Tuesday into Wednesday

Close to a dozen agencies have been involved in the search, including the TBI, Tennessee Highway Patrol, Nashville Fire Department, City of Hendersonville’s first responders, Sumner County Sheriff’s Office, and Shackle Island Volunteer Fire. Weidner said there are also rescue and dive teams on standby.

“Pretty much every agency in the county and then counties from across the state quite honestly, and you know with the plea… we have a lot of people wanting to volunteer and we are really looking to put trained personnel on the ground,” Weidner said.

Authorities have not yet called on the public to join in the search, but that is subject to change as the search stretches on. Right now, Craddock said the best thing the public can do is share Sebastian’s missing poster on social media and, “if you see something, say something.”

“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.”

UNSOLVED TENNESSEE: Find more of the state’s cold cases, missing persons, and other mysteries →

Sebastian was last seen wearing a black sweatshirt and black sweatpants. He is described as 5-feet, 5-inches tall, 120 pounds with dirty blond hair. Anyone who sees Sebastian is asked to call the Sumner County Sheriff’s Office at 615-451-3838 or the TBI at 1-800-TBI-FIND.

Craddock told News 2 Sebastian’s family is home waiting for his safe return.

“I cannot imagine the struggle that his family is going through right now. I’m a dad. Director Weidner is a dad. I just don’t know how they’re handling it,” Craddock said. “I couldn’t survive if something happened to my kids.”

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This is a developing story. WKRN News 2 will continue to update this article as new information becomes available.

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