The five-month-old case involving the disappearance of an autistic teenage boy has taken an intense turn as the teen’s mother obtained a restraining order against a YouTuber who has been following the case.
15-year-old Sebastian Rogers became the center of an ongoing investigation when he vanished without notice at the end of February. Tennessee authorities issued an amber alert at the time, requesting help from the public to bring the Hendersonville teen home.
Meanwhile, a YouTuber known as Bullhorn Betty—but whose real name is Andra Griffin—has taken up her own investigation, as she probes into missing persons cases for her channel. But Katie Proudfoot, Sebastian’s mother, has accused the social media guru of threatening her family.
Proudfoot explained that Griffin drives past the family’s home and “posts live,” using her platform to “threaten us” and prompting her followers to “do the same.” The mother also described the YouTuber as “dangerous.” Since her concerns were sparked, Proudfoot has obtained a temporary protection order against Griffin, prohibiting her from being within 100 feet of Proudfoot or her home.
Sebastian has been searched for by thousands of volunteers and law enforcement officials, including efforts from the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, which has combed over 2,000 square miles surrounding the family’s home through searches conducted on foot and in the air.
While Sebastian’s family works with state and local authorities to find their son, Griffin has caused even more drama by embracing the case in front of her almost 200,000 followers. No evidence of foul play has emerged, according to the Sumner County Sheriff’s department, but Griffin says that the missing boy’s parents are not being transparent about his disappearance.
The YouTuber suggested that the parent present a “lack of caring” for their son, focusing instead on “their reputation” to the extent that they allegedly “lie under oath.” Griffin added in a recent video that she does not intend to “be a victim” of what she described as the parents’ “criminal enterprise.”
Griffin—who, bear in mind, is not a licensed investigator and simply probes cases and draws her own conclusion—further accused Sebastian’s parents of “exuding problematic behavior.”
The last time the teenager was seen was on February 25, when he went to bed after taking the trash outside. Katie said at the time that she heard “noise” from his bedroom and called into him to “go to sleep.” But come six o’clock the next morning, when she went to wake him for school, Sebastian was nowhere to be found.
To date, there are minimal leads for investigators. Footage showing the back of the family’s house was released in March, catching three separate light sources—two further away and one near the house. But police have yet to figure out if one of them was being held by Sebastian, though they believe the video evidence points to a second person being outside the house on the night the boy disappeared.
In May, a photo circulated online that was thought to be Sebastian for a time. But investigators later determined that the boy in the picture was not the missing teenager, and the search for him continues.
