Police in Indiana are reportedly suspending the seek for a teen they previously said was in “extreme danger” who went missing hours after being pictured in a bizarre T-shirt with handwritten messages reading “I’m a liar,” “I hurt my lil brother” and “cheat”.
Scottie Dean Morris, 14, of Eaton, was last seen around 8:30 p.m. local time on E Indiana Avenue on March 16.
A Silver Alert issued the next day said Morris – who was only wearing shorts and a white T-shirt when he vanished – is believed to be in “extreme danger” and “may require medical assistance.”
Talking to The Star Press late Monday, Eaton Police Chief Jay Turner said that investigators were “coming to the tip of the searches” for the teenager after having exhausted all avenues.
“We’ve [searched] your entire town not less than 4 times. We’ve done all of the outskirts, we [searched] each the north and south sides of the [Mississinewa] river,” he told the outlet of the extensive search effort.
“We’ve had horses, we’ve had the helicopter with infrared, we’ve had a fixed-wing [Indiana State Police] helicopter, [the Department of Natural Resources] had boats within the water. We’ve just about exhausted every thing we are able to looking on this area. Now we’re hoping for somebody to call and provides us a tip and we’ll move on that.”
In a Facebook update shared shortly after 5 p.m. Monday, Eaton Deputy Chief Chris Ligett said law enforcement would have a “multi-agency” meeting on Tuesday to find out next steps.
Ligett said that several interviews and polygraphs were conducted, but that police still had “no recent leads or information” and were “at a standstill.”
Ligett also tried to quell among the rumors surrounding the case on social media, most of which began after police shared the full-length photo of Morris where he looks upset while wearing a white T-shirt with the hand-written black ink messages, which included “cheat” underlined and a drawing of a crying face on Morris’s right shoulder.
The white shirt is believed to be the identical t-shirt he wearing when he went missing.
Social media users speculated that the strange shirt coupled with Morris’ buzzed haircut could potenitally indicate abuse at home.
Nevertheless, in Monday’s video statement Ligett noted Morris’ buzz cut was done at his request a couple of days before he disappeared.
Although acquaintances reportedly described Morris as “the sweetest” and “very polite,” Turner told The Star Press the teenager tried to run away once previously.
Turner also said there was no reason to consider the boy was being abused.
Morris’ mother, Felicia Morris, appeared on Indianapolis TV on Monday with a desperate message for her son.
“I like you and I just want you to return home,” she said tearfully.
Along with his parents, Morris lives at home in Eaton together with his three siblings, including a twin sister, The Star Press said.
Along with extensive law enforcement efforts, the seek for Morris drew volunteers from across the state.
“If it were my very own kid, I’d hope someone would come out and help me,” Curtis Little, of Albany, told The Star Press.
“That is any person’s baby. We are able to do the second-guessing and that stuff later, we just need to seek out that young man.”
Thomas Frost, of Bloomington, told the outlet that he was inspired to assist find Morris following the 2011 disappearance of Lauren Spierer, who has never been found, and the Delphi murders, where two teenage girls were found dead.
“This isn’t the primary time I’ve been exposed to this sort of thing,” he lamented.
“Those two [cases] had horrible outcomes. And I would like to assist if possible avoid that.”
In keeping with the official Silver Alert, Morris is 5 ‘4″ and 150 kilos with blue eyes. He was last seen wearing red and black shorts, a white t-shirt with writing on it, and black shows.
The Eaton Police Department didn’t immediately return The Post’s request for a comment.
