NJ Mom Charged with Obstruction After Son Found Hiding in Crawl Space
Police located the 17-year-old boy in his mother's basement after she reported him missing.
A New Jersey woman faces obstruction charges after her missing 17-year-old son was found hiding in a crawl space in her home.
Jennifer Buckley contacted East Brunswick police on Tuesday evening to report her son missing. She told officers that the boy was not at her house and expressed concern for his safety, stating he might be a danger to himself and did not want to go to his father's home. Authorities initiated an extensive search effort.
Detectives investigating the report uncovered discrepancies in Buckley's account. A subsequent search of her home led officers to discover the juvenile hiding in a crawl space in the basement. Investigators determined the boy had been in the crawl space the entire time, and Buckley had helped conceal him. The teen was found unharmed.
"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. "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."
Buckley was arrested and charged with obstructing the administration of law. The East Brunswick Police Department utilized resources including the National Crime Information Center in their search for the boy.