A New Jersey woman was charged with obstruction this week after her missing son was found hiding in a crawl space in her home, authorities confirmed.
After the 17-year-old boy’s father reported that his son wasn’t at his scheduled drop-off on Tuesday evening, his mother, Jennifer Buckley, reportedly told police the boy wasn’t at her house, and she couldn’t find him.
She also reportedly said the boy didn’t want to go to his father’s home and expressed concern he might be a danger to himself.
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“The East Brunswick Police Department initiated an extensive effort to locate the juvenile,” the department said. “Patrol officers and other department personnel devoted significant resources to the search, while detectives conducted a follow-up investigation in the days that followed.”
The investigation, which included entering the teen’s information into the National Crime Information Center, uncovered a number of discrepancies in Buckley’s story.
When police finally did search her home, the boy was found hiding in a crawl space in the basement, and officers determined he had been there the whole time and she helped conceal him.
There is no evidence he was harmed in any way.
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She was arrested and charged with obstructing the administration of law.
“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,” East Brunswick Police Chief Frank LoSacco said in a statement.
“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.”
Fox News Digital has reached out to the East Brunswick Police Department for more information.
