An East Brunswick, New Jersey woman has been charged with obstruction after police discovered her 17-year-old son, whom she had reported missing, hiding in a crawl space in her home’s basement.
The search began after the boy’s father told police his son had not shown up for a scheduled drop-off on Tuesday evening. The boy’s mother, Jennifer Buckley, told officers she did not know where the teen was and could not find him. She reportedly also said the boy did not want to go to his father’s house and that she was concerned he might be a danger to himself.
“The East Brunswick Police Department initiated an extensive effort to locate the juvenile,” the department said in a statement. “Patrol officers and other department personnel devoted significant resources to the search, while detectives conducted a follow-up investigation in the days that followed.”
As part of that investigation, police entered the teen’s information into the National Crime Information Center. That process, according to authorities, turned up discrepancies in Buckley’s account.
When officers eventually searched her home, they found the boy hiding in the basement crawl space. Investigators determined he had been there the entire time and that Buckley had helped conceal him. There is no evidence the teen was harmed.
Buckley was arrested and charged with obstructing the administration of law.
East Brunswick Police Chief Frank LoSacco defended the resources devoted to the search and criticized the false information officers said they were given.
“Whenever a juvenile is reported missing, particularly when there are concerns for that child’s safety, our officers take the report seriously and commit the resources necessary to locate them,” LoSacco said. “I commend the patrol officers, detectives, and other personnel who worked diligently to locate this juvenile and ensure his safety. Providing false or misleading information to law enforcement undermines those efforts and unnecessarily diverts officers and resources away from members of our community who may need immediate police assistance.”
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