MEMPHIS, Tenn. — The mother of a 14-year-old is looking for her son who has been missing since the middle of December.
The teen is criminally charged but his mother says she can't be there as a parent if the system is doing a miserable job of keeping her informed about her son's situation.
“My son is 14 years old," Laquita Cole, Rodney Henry's mother, said. "His name is Rodney Henry Jr. He went missing December the sixteenth.”
According to Memphis police, after being missing since December 16, Henry was finally located on December 29.
He was then charged with the theft of a motor vehicle and was later released from juvenile detention on bond, according to MPD.
A day after being located and detained on December 30, it was reported that he was missing again, running away from Porter Leath, an interim care facility his mother says she was unaware he was in.
“He was transported without her consent, without her being notified," Casio Montez, a community activist, said. "And sent to another facility where he come up missing again; enough is enough with this system.”
According to a social worker at Porter Leath, Henry was seen leaving the Porter Leath property on Manassas St, around 11 a.m.
Community leaders said it’s just another example of a system without enough oversight.
“He was in police custody," Paula Buress, a community activist said. "And it’s not understood why he was held there and marked found safe."
The community says "She never received a phone call that we have your child down here,” Montez said.
A representative for Porter Leath said, in part, “... protecting each child's safety is our first priority. Per our d-c-s license, our therapeutic services are delivered in a facility that is unlocked from the inside."
Police say they’re looking for Rodney and they have now contacted Henry's mother about this case.