‘Why wasn’t I informed?’ Missing Tennessee teen’s father says DCS had warning signs before son’s disappearance

What This Story Is About

• The father of missing Tennessee teenager Sebastian Rogers has filed two federal lawsuits against the Sumner County Sheriff’s Office and the Tennessee Department of Children’s Services, alleging both agencies failed his son — one before his February 2024 disappearance and one during the investigation that followed.

Why It Matters

• The lawsuits represent the first formal, public legal accounting of how government agencies handled both Sebastian’s welfare and his disappearance — and could force the release of investigative records, internal communications and sworn testimony that have never been made public.

What Happens Next

• Both lawsuits are now moving through federal court. If the cases proceed, attorneys could seek investigative reports, internal communications, child welfare records and sworn depositions from law enforcement and DCS officials.

For Context

• At the time of his disappearance, Sebastian Rogers was a 15-year-old with autism spectrum disorder, severe ADHD and a rare chromosomal condition who required daily support. His case became one of the most widely followed missing-child cases in the country, drawing national media coverage, true-crime podcasts and thousands of volunteers.

Catch Up

• Sebastian Roger’s mom described a “gaping hole” in her heart in an exclusive interview with WSMV4 nearly two years after her son’s disappearance.
• Stepdad Chris Proudfoot described feeling hopeless in a 2024 interview with WSMV4.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WSMV) - UPDATE 5:45 P.M.: WSMV4 Investigates reached out to DCS about the lawsuit. In an email statement, the agency wrote: “As a matter of practice, the Department generally does not comment on pending litigation. Additionally, DCS is unable to comment on specific cases due to state and federal confidentiality laws. Our priority remains, and will always remain, the safety and well-being of children in Tennessee.”

PREVIOUSLY: For 870 days, Seth Rogers has lived with a single unanswered question.

What happened to his son?

“I need my son home,” said Rogers. “There’s nothing else.”

Now, nearly two-and-a-half years after 15-year-old Sebastian Rogers disappeared without a trace from the Hendersonville home he shared with his mother and stepfather, his father is asking a second question he says has become just as important.

Sebastian’s dad files two federal lawsuits

On Wednesday, Rogers filed two sweeping federal lawsuits that accuse the agencies responsible for protecting Sebastian before he disappeared, and investigating his disappearance afterward, of failing him at nearly every stage.

One lawsuit targets the Sumner County Sheriff’s Office (SCSO), alleging investigators mishandled the missing-person investigation from its earliest hours by failing to secure the home as a potential crime scene, pursue critical investigative leads and devote adequate resources to the case.

That suit also names Sumner County Sheriff Eric Craddock, and detective Brandon Carter, the alleged “sole detective assigned to Sebastian’s missing person investigation.”

The second lawsuit is against the Tennessee Department of Children’s Services (DCS), alleging the agency failed to protect Sebastian despite two closed investigations involving the teenager before he vanished.

Several DCS officials are also named in that complaint, including DCS Commissioner Margie Quinn, a case worker, an agency supervisor and a DCS team leader.

Together, the lawsuits paint the broadest and most detailed public picture yet of why Rogers believes the mystery surrounding his son’s disappearance is not simply about what happened on the night Sebastian vanished—but whether government agencies repeatedly missed opportunities both before and after that night.

“So, he was failed by both of them,” Rogers told WSMV4 Investigates during an exclusive interview.

“My son wasn’t protected. My son wasn’t found,” said Rogers. “It makes you want to sleep, but it’s a nightmare.”

Lawsuit alleges DCS had warning signs

Unlike the sheriff’s office complaint, which argues investigators failed to pursue critical leads after Sebastian vanished, the DCS suit claims that agency failed to take protective steps that could have prevented Sebastian’s disappearance in the first place.

The complaint alleges the agency already possessed warning signs about Sebastian’s welfare, documented them in its own files, then closed two investigations without notifying his father.

For Rogers, that revelation has become one of the most painful parts of the case.

“What did I do for him not to tell me that he was scared?” Rogers asked. “I’m supposed to protect him. I failed him.”

Rogers said he had no idea DCS had investigated allegations involving Sebastian in 2022 and again in 2023 until after his son disappeared.

He said he learned the investigations existed only after hearing about them publicly and later obtaining DCS records through his attorney.

“Why wasn’t I informed? He could have come to live with me. I’d have taken him in a heartbeat,” said Rogers. “No parent should have to get an attorney to get records from a state agency to find out what was already recorded. That doesn’t make sense.”

Sebastian reported sexual abuse, lawsuit claims

According to the complaint, DCS first opened an investigation in September 2022 after Sebastian disclosed to a school professional that he had been sexually abused by another child while living in California.

During that investigation, the lawsuit alleges DCS documented concerns involving Sebastian’s home environment before closing the case in November 2022 without taking protective action.

DCS opened two investigations before Sebastian’s disappearance, lawsuit says

Eight months later, DCS opened a second investigation after receiving allegations that Sebastian’s stepfather, Christopher Proudfoot, had struck him in the stomach.

The lawsuit claims Sebastian confirmed the incident to investigators and that his stepfather allegedly admitted striking him. Despite that, the complaint says DCS closed the investigation three days later, determining no additional services were needed.

Approximately nine months later, Sebastian disappeared.

The complaint relies heavily on DCS’s own investigative records, arguing they show the agency had information suggesting Sebastian was a vulnerable child who required greater protection.

Among the allegations, the lawsuit claims DCS documented that Sebastian said he felt safest with his father. It also alleges the agency determined Sebastian qualified for the federal Title IV-E Candidacy Program, a designation for children considered at serious or imminent risk of removal from their homes.

The lawsuit argues those findings should have prompted additional protective action rather than the closure of both investigations.

“When you only have one side of the story, there’s no way to reach a reasonable conclusion,” Richie said. “Half the story leaves half the conclusion.”

Richie argues that had DCS involved Seth Rogers during its investigations, the outcome may have been different.

“I don’t think we’d be here today talking,” he said. “I think Seth would’ve corroborated what Sebastian was feeling, and I think this would’ve taken a very different turn.”

The lawsuit also alleges DCS violated Seth Rogers’ constitutional rights by failing to notify him of either investigation, despite documenting that Sebastian identified him as the parent with whom he felt safest.

“There’s no words for it, they failed my son. They didn’t try to protect him,” Rogers said.

WSMV4 Investigates reached out to the Tennessee Department of Children’s Services about the lawsuit, but has not received a response.

What happens next?

Both lawsuits are now moving into federal court, where Rogers and his attorney hope the discovery process will force government agencies to publicly answer questions that they say have gone unanswered for nearly two-and-a-half years.

If the cases proceed, attorneys could seek investigative reports, internal communications, emails, child welfare records, training materials and sworn testimony from deputies, detectives, DCS employees and other officials involved in Sebastian’s case.

Those records could provide the first detailed public look at decisions made before Sebastian disappeared and during the investigation that followed.

Whether the lawsuits ultimately succeed, however, will be decided in court, because for now, the allegations contained in both complaints remain just that, allegations.

As detailed as the case filings are, neither lawsuit identifies who caused Sebastian’s disappearance.

And neither suit alleges that Katie or Christoper Proudfoot are legally responsible for Sebastian’s disappearance.

Instead, both lawsuits argue government agencies failed to meet their responsibilities after receiving information they should have acted upon.

“I know they didn’t do their job. You know how I know? We don’t have Sebastian here sitting with us today,” Richie said.

Katie and Christopher Proudfoot declined WSMV4’s request for an on-camera interview to discuss Rogers’ claims.

However, neither has been arrested in connection with Sebastian’s disappearance.

And neither has been named as a suspect nor publicly identified by law enforcement as a person of interest.

Both have consistently denied any involvement in Sebastian’s disappearance.

In previous interviews with WSMV4, Katie Proudfoot described the accusations directed at her family as deeply painful.

“It hurts,” she said. “It hurts a lot.”

A father still searching

In both federal cases, Rogers’ attorney is seeking millions of dollars, plus injunctions to force each agency to change their policies and refocus the investigation into Sebastian’s disappearance.

Specifically, the lawsuit against SCSO demands $10 million plus punitive damages, and the suit against DCS seeks $15 million plus punitive damages.

While Richie said neither case is about money, he wants the dollar amount to send a clear message.

“It is a statement of alarm,” Richie said. “It is to bring attention to the matter.”

Rogers says the suits are about forcing accountability.

He also prays renewed focus on the case will bring about an answer to the only question in his mind that matters.

Where is Sebastian?

“He’s alive. He’s just lost,” Rogers said.

That belief is what keeps him searching, and why he said he has driven more than 100,000 miles in his truck across multiple states chasing leads.

And it is why, more than two years later, he says he refuses to stop asking questions.

Only now, those questions may ultimately be asked and possibly answered in federal court.

“I want to hug my son in the morning,” Rogers said. “I want to feel his presence. I don’t want to wake up from these nightmares anymore.”