A 15-year-old who went missing from Tennessee was recently found in Hawaii, according to a press release from the U.S. Marshals Service. The teen was reported as a runaway on September 1, wearing a T-shirt and grey sweatpants, with a history of suicidal ideations, according to facility staff.
It wasn't until over a month later, on November 2, that the Memphis Safe Task Force (MSTF) received a tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC). The tipster, who claimed to employ the child's father in Hawaii, reported that the father had recently been bringing the child to work at a construction site where they lived in a minivan. The caller, had requested the father and the child to leave his property, but they refused.
The Memphis Police Department sought the help of the MSTF in recovering the child on November 5. Upon learning that the tipster was planning on removing the two from his property, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigations quickly took action. Just a day later, the Honolulu Police Department (HPD) located the juvenile in a garage with several other people, but the father was absent. The child was taken into custody and is currently awaiting transport back to Tennessee, as reported by the U.S. Marshals.
Further details provided by the U.S. Marshals Service press release reveal that the father has a substantial criminal record in both California, and Hawaii. His charges include domestic violence, abuse, drugs, battery, and burglary.
