The search for missing Tennessee teenager Sebastian Rogers has taken another twist with the volunteer force looking for the 15-year-old boy with autism claiming its members have received threats – forcing them to scale back their search efforts.
United Cajun Navy, a non-profit search and rescue group, announced Friday that it had called off its search for the day due to "increasing security concerns" surrounding its operations to find Rogers, who has been missing for more than a month since he left his bedroom in Hendersonville barefoot and with a flashlight.
"Today's search for Sebastian Rogers has been called off. Due to increasing security concerns and with the upcoming Easter holiday, the decision has been made as of this morning to pull back and regroup," the group posted to Facebook. "This decision was not taken lightly [and was] made with the safety of all volunteers in mind. We want to thank all the volunteers that planned to be out searching today."
The post did not go into detail about the threats, but Brian Trascher, the vice-president of the United Cajun Navy, tells Fox News Digital that two of the group’s members have received threats.
Trascher says that a male volunteer was confronted by a man in a hotel parking lot and intimidated him.
A female volunteer, Trascher says, was also threatened over the phone by another man, a recording of which he shared with Fox News Digital.
In the tape, the man calls up the female volunteer and accuses the woman and another volunteer of driving onto his property and drawing a crowd. He says that he contacted the sheriff’s office about the incident.
"We are letting the community know about you," the man says, claiming he was making the call to make sure the group aren’t doing anything illegal. "You guys are just out of control and we as a community are going to make sure you guys get out of here."
The female volunteer goes on to say that the person who she was with in the car is a local and that the vehicle in question was trying to turn around at the time. She said that she even tried phoning the man ahead of time for guidance on where to park.
Trascher says that the incidents have raised safety concerns for his team, resulting in the public search being called off. They will continue searching for Rogers privately but won’t be disclosing the search locations.
Fox News Digital reached out to the Sumner County Sheriff's Office but did not receive a response.
The incident is the latest twist in the puzzling case.
The Sumner County Sheriff's Office issued an Amber Alert for Sebastian last month after he was last seen in the area of Stafford Court.
Sebastian's mother, Katie Proudfoot, told "Fox & Friends" on Thursday morning that the family do not know where he is.
"Honestly, we don't know where he is… We haven't found any substantial evidence to locate where he's been or where we went," Proudfoot said. That's why we're pleading for help."
Katie said she overheard noise coming from Sebastian's room on the evening of Feb. 25 and told him to keep it down. The next morning, he was gone.
Following the teenager's disappearance, Katie drove about three hours away from home to meet up with her husband and Sebastian's stepfather, Chris Proudfoot, prompting some to wonder why she would travel so far from the area where her son was last seen.
"We are posting fliers every direction we can. But at the same time, there were quite a bit of people that were sending some very threatening and hateful messages to us. They're following us. They're driving past our house at all hours of the day or night, disturbing the neighborhood, and the neighborhood is very upset and concerned. They're worried about their safety at this point," Katie said, adding that she felt that leaving the neighborhood would help calm things down.
Seth Rogers, Sebastian's father, told WSMV that he is searching the Natchez Trace State Park in West Tennessee, because he fears his son may have been "dropped off" there, but he did not specify why he thought so.
The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) is encouraging Hendersonville locals to "to check their property, their outbuildings, under decks, inside boats or cars …anywhere a teen may be able to hide." First responders covered about 2,000 total miles within the first few days of their search for the missing 15-year-old, according to the agency.
"At this stage in the investigation, there are few clues to indicate what happened to Sebastian, or where he may be," the FBI said in a March 22 update. "There is no proof at this time that there is any criminal element involved in his disappearance. But also, there is not any proof that there is not a criminal element involved. So agents and investigators are reviewing any possibility at all that may indicate where Sebastian is."
Sebastian is described as a white male, standing 5 feet, 5 inches tall, weighing 120 lbs., with brown hair and brown eyes. He was last seen wearing a black sweatshirt, black sweatpants and glasses.
Authorities are asking anyone with information to contact the Sumner County Emergency Communications Center at 615-451-3838 or the TBI at 1-800-TBI-FIND.
Fox News’ Audrey Conklin contributed to this report.
