Police Charge 11-Year-Old Boy After Massive Search (Photo)

Charges have been filed against an 11-year-old boy in Tennessee who disappeared for hours.

According to WDTN, 11-year-old Perry Beller has been charged with being an unruly juvenile and inducing panic after he disappeared for more than 16 hours, leading authorities to conduct an in-depth search.

Perry went missing at around 4:00 a.m. on June 22. He left his family’s home wearing only a pair of shorts, with no shoes. He was confirmed to have been found in downtown Christianburg, about five miles away from his home, at around 8:30 p.m. 

More than 100 people participated in a search for the boy after he was reported missing. The search team included personnel from fire/EMS and law enforcement from four counties, as well as multiple K-9 teams and Clark County EMA. ATVs, helicopters, and BCI drones were used in the search in order to cover the expansive area. The search focused on Christiansburg after the local police received a report that he may have been seen.

A member of the Region 3 Rescue Strike Team found Perry walking around in downtown Christiansburg. 

Perry has a disability called oppositional defiant disorder, or ODD, that compels him to run.

Authorities say that this was not the first time Perry has run away. He last went missing in May and was found after four hours, several miles from his family’s home.

The boy and his parents are now facing charges related to his disappearance. Police say that they are discussing with the family ways to prevent Perry from running away from home in the future.

Readers shared their thoughts on the story on MommyPage’s Facebook page:

My son has ADHD With ODD. And it can have rough days but he has never left home. He has threatened it and I told him I would pack his bag. He didn’t mention it for several years. Then he became a teen and told me he was going to leave and live with someone else. I made him pack a back and step onto the porch and locked the door. I told him: you think your a big boy go for it. He stayed out for about an hour then asked to come back in. I told his therapist about it and she works with him on it. Alarms on doors and windows would be good but they would have to be silent alarms that he doesn’t know about. IF THE COPS GAVE THE PARENTS SUGGESTIONS AND THEY DIDNT TAKE THEM. THEN THEY SHOULD PRESS CHARGES ON HIM. HE NEEDS TO LEARN HE CANT GET AWAY WITH IT.

I think it’s reasonable seeing as they tried to talk to the family a few weeks beforehand about security for him and safety options and clearly they didn’t adhere to that. You have to take responsibility for your child and their actions. That was a lot of time and manpower wasted.

Sources: WDTN, MommyPage/Facebook / Photo credit: Tony Webster via Wikimedia Commons, WCMH, The Street Blogger