UPDATE: Eaton police said Scottie Morris has been found safe.
EATON, Ind. – Authorities have suspended public searches for missing 14-year-old Scottie Morris.
Eaton Deputy Police Chief Chris Liggett said the department will meet with Indiana State Police, local agencies and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children to discuss their next steps in the case.
While local police will wind down the public search, Department of Natural Resources boats, sonar and dive teams will check local rivers and ponds. Liggett described the water search as “due diligence,” adding that no new information indicated Morris could be in the water.
One search and rescue boat was spotted at an Eaton pond at the corner of S Bash St. and Bosman St.
The owner of the property said law enforcement looked at the pond with a drone Monday and came back Tuesday with boats and sonar equipment.
”I seen just a bunch of trucks and cars lined up around the corner of the street. I couldn’t really tell who they were, what they was doing, but I assumed it had something to do with this missing boy,” said Philena Brookshire, who lives a few hundred feet from the pond being searched.
K9 teams will also be used in the search.
“Officers are still investigating and working leads as we receive them,” police wrote in an update Tuesday. “We ask that you please refrain from making false statements.”
Police noted they’d conducted many interviews and searches over the past few days.
Morris disappeared Thursday night from Eaton, a small town north of Muncie. Search parties have been combing through the area looking for him.
The search included vacant homes around town as well as wooded areas. Volunteers covered several miles of woods along the Mississinewa River Monday without finding any signs of the missing 14-year-old.
Eaton Police Chief Jay Turner told reporters Monday that local police have run out of places to look around town, saying they’ve “checked everywhere we could possibly think of.” It’s possible someone picked up Morris and he’s no longer in Eaton, Turner said.
According to Turner, investigators don’t see anything criminal about Morris’ disappearance. His parents were given polygraph examinations, something Turner indicated was part of the department’s attempts to “check all avenues.”
Morris is the subject of a statewide Silver Alert. According to the Silver Alert notification, he’s 5’4” with brown hair and blue eyes. He was last seen around 8:30 p.m. Thursday (March 16) wearing black shoes, red and black shorts and a white t-shirt with writing on the front.
Anyone with information should contact the Eaton Police Department at (765) 396-3297 or call 911.
