Fishing was their favorite sport
Fishing belonged to Sebastian Rogers and his grandmother. Robin Rogers said her grandson called it their favorite sport, his and hers, and that he loved talking with her about plants and about animals.
His father, Seth Rogers, held a different picture of his son: a playground in Clarksville, Tennessee, where Seth said Sebastian loved to play while he watched. The FBI notes that Sebastian has ties to Clarksville.
Sebastian was 15 when he went missing. He stands 5 feet 5 inches and weighs 120 pounds. His hair is dirty blond, a shade the FBI's poster splits as blond or brown, and his eyes are listed as brown or hazel. He wears black, square-framed glasses. He has autism and other developmental conditions, and the FBI states that his medical conditions may impair his ability to return safely without assistance.
Home was the Beech area of Hendersonville, in Sumner County, at his mother and stepfather's house, News Channel 5 Nashville reported. That is the home he disappeared from on February 26, 2024.
The morning of February 26
According to WSMV, Sebastian left his mother and stepfather's home on February 26. Investigators told the station he was last seen in the area of that home. The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation said he was last seen near Stafford Court that Monday, wearing a black sweatshirt and black sweatpants. The FBI's poster lists him as last seen on February 25 in the area of Stafford Court, and as missing since February 26; the two agencies' dates for the last sighting differ by a day.
On the morning of February 26, the TBI issued an Endangered Child Alert, and multiple agencies moved into the area: the TBI itself, the Tennessee Highway Patrol, the Nashville Fire Department, the City of Hendersonville's first responders, the Sumner County Sheriff's Office, and Shackle Island Volunteer Fire.
In the days and weeks that followed, authorities searched miles of land. The TBI conducted multiple large-scale searches by ground, by water, and by air. A search of a Southern Kentucky landfill found nothing. WKRN reported, citing a source, that the repeated searches produced no new leads. As of WSMV's reporting that spring, there had been no confirmed sightings of Sebastian. The TBI said it had no evidence of foul play in his disappearance.
An army in Hendersonville
On April 6, shortly before the six-week mark, the Hendersonville community held a prayer vigil outside The Rudder. Minister ShaLawn Williams prayed that Sebastian would come home safe and unharmed. Seth Rogers told the crowd they were Sebastian's army, and said his son would be found alive and well. He thanked everyone who had helped search.
Sebastian's grandparents were there too, having traveled from Texas a second time to help look for him. Robin Rogers said the family appreciated the people doing what was needed to bring Sebastian home. She had one request for anyone making money from the search: stay away.
Karen Strahm and her son, Jaden Semich, organized that vigil. Semich said he began searching on the fourth and fifth days after Sebastian went missing and had stayed with it; he and his mother searched alongside Seth Rogers. Strahm said she has children of her own and finds it hard not to see their faces when she looks at Sebastian's. Attendees ended the evening writing handwritten messages to Sebastian, meant to be shared with him someday. Semich said the case must not go cold, and that vigils, news presence, and media coverage could help someone see or report information and bring Sebastian home.
Later that month, Seth Rogers told WSMV that the two months since his son disappeared had felt like one continuous day. He said he needed people around the world helping, because Sebastian could be anywhere. About 100 people were expected to join him at the Light the Path for Sebastian event on East Main Street in Hendersonville, where participants planned to light the bridge in green, Sebastian's favorite color, and hold a moment of silence.
In May came the Ride for Sebastian, organized by 615BOYZmc, a Nashville-area mixed sportbike and cruiser club. Participants were to meet at The Rudder at 4 p.m. on May 19 and ride at 5, with a prayer vigil and cookout at 6 at Beech High School. Anyone could join in any vehicle without registering, and the Hendersonville Police Department planned an escort. Vehicles would carry signs with Sebastian's information. ShaLawn Williams said about 300 people were expected, many from out of state, and that people across the country had reached out because they wanted Sebastian home.
Around the same time, the Sumner County Sheriff's Office said there was no new credible information about the disappearance, and authorities said statements circulating on social media about the case were false.
Two lawsuits
Seth Rogers hired private investigators. Sumner County Sheriff Sonny Weatherford said he briefly met with them on April 16, and WKRN reported they wanted to search some areas around Sebastian's home again. Seth organized searches of his own, as far west as West Tennessee, and told the station he was doing everything he could to find his son. He also said the Amber Alert policy should change: in his view, an autistic child who supposedly walks out and disappears should be classified as a missing person rather than a runaway, with an Amber Alert issued immediately.
He also went to federal court. According to News Channel 5 Nashville, Seth Rogers filed two federal lawsuits concerning his son's disappearance and his treatment by Tennessee child welfare officials and Sumner County authorities. The first accuses the Tennessee Department of Children's Services of failing to protect Sebastian after investigating his household twice before he went missing. The suit says a 2022 investigation documented Sebastian's fear that his stepfather, Christopher Proudfoot, would hurt him, and that Sebastian disclosed sexual abuse that allegedly occurred while he lived in California. It says a second investigation began in 2023 after allegations that Proudfoot physically abused Sebastian, and that Proudfoot admitted striking the boy in the stomach with the back of his hand. According to the lawsuit, the department closed that investigation as "No Services Needed" and never contacted Seth Rogers, despite his shared custody. Sebastian disappeared about nine months after the second investigation began. Seth argues the department documented warning signs but did not remove Sebastian, place him with his father, or provide other protections.
The second lawsuit accuses Sumner County, its sheriff's office, Sheriff Eric Craddock, and Detective Brandon Carter of mishandling the investigation into the disappearance. It alleges that investigators failed to properly secure the home, failed to independently verify Proudfoot's alibi, and failed to investigate why surveillance cameras were reportedly not working. It alleges the search was scaled back after about a week, that only one detective was assigned, and that some tips were not pursued. Seth Rogers says the sheriff's office has not communicated with him for approximately 18 months. The suits seek at least $10 million and $15 million in compensatory damages, plus punitive damages and court-ordered reforms. None of the allegations has been proven in court, and the TBI has said it has no evidence of foul play.
Sebastian Rogers remains missing. The FBI is offering a reward of up to $50,000 for information leading to his whereabouts. Community members can still pick up flyers at The Rudder in Hendersonville and distribute them around the area. Anyone with information is asked to call the Sumner County Sheriff's Office at (615) 451-3838 or the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation at 1-800-TBI-FIND.
Photographs of Sebastian Rogers released by the FBI and circulated in the search.
