Mom of Missing Indiana Teen Speaks Out as Search Continues: 'I Want You to Come Home'

The 14-year-old was last seen on March 16, wearing black shoes, red and black shorts and a white T-shirt with writing on the front

Scottie Thomas. Photo: Eaton Indiana Police Department

The mother of a missing Indiana teen is sharing a heartbreaking message for her 14-year-old son, pleading with him to come home.

Scottie Morris was last seen on March 16. Security footage from his family's home in the small town of Eaton, which is northeast of Indianapolis, showed the teen walking away from the house around 8:15 p.m. local time, according to WTHR.

His mother, Felicia Morris, said in a tearful plea shared by WRTV this week, "Scott, I love you. And I want you to come home. I know that you're mad and confused. I'm afraid that you're scared of all this. Everyone is out looking for you. We're not trying to scare you. You're not in trouble."

She continued, "If you're in a house and they come to you and you don't want to go out because it's the cops, reach out, me and Dad will come get you, okay? I love you and I just want you to come home."

"I need to know that you're safe. Please just call 911, tell anyone, just ... I need you home. I just need you home and I love you so much."

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Eaton Indiana Police Department

Chief Jay Turner of the Eaton Indiana Police Department told WTHR that Scottie and his mother had a disagreement "over a punishment," the night he left their home.

"I think it was just a normal mom and son argument. He walked away."

He later said, "I come from a large family. One of the scariest things is losing a child that age. I'm not gonna let it happen. I want to find him."

Turner shared an update on the case via Facebook on Friday. He said bones were found near a fire pit in the back of a local barn; however, they were later confirmed to be from an animal.

On Thursday, police asked the community to share any footage their cameras captured between 8:15 and 11:00 p.m. on March 16.

Morris was wearing black shoes, red and black shorts and a white T-shirt with writing on the front when he was last seen. He's described in a silver alert issued by authorities as being white, 5 feet 4 inches tall and weighing 150 pounds, with brown hair and blue eyes.

Local police previously held a search party for Morris, according to their Facebook post, and then took part in another the following day.

In a follow-up post, the Eaton Indiana Police Department said that they would not be partaking in a search party for Morris on Sunday "because we will have helicopters from the Indiana State Police using their infrared cameras."

They noted, however, that should people want to search for Morris on their own, they should "refrain from wooded areas, tree lines, rivers, etc as this will only hinder the investigation while they're in the air searching."

"We are a small department," Turner told WTHR. "We have four regular officers and 18 reserves. Our reserves and our regulars volunteered their time to come in and do these searches. I'm very pleased how we came together — fire department, EMS, police department."

"I want this young man to know we are not here to make sure he's in trouble. We want to help him and make sure he's safe," Turner added to the outlet. "We've taken this seriously from the very beginning, and we're going to continue to investigate until we find him."

Anyone with information tied to Morris' disappearance is asked to call the Eaton Police Department at 765-396-3297.