Mother Says She Spotted Son On TV After Reporting Him Missing Last Year In Mississippi

A Mississippi woman, who reported her son missing nearly a year ago, got quite the surprise when she was watching the local news on TV.

After seeing a story of a homeless boy being reunited with a dog he dropped off at a shelter, the woman found out it was her son who she had not seen since the summer of 2021, according to KTLA.

The original story featured the 17-year-old boy, who has not been named, highlighted the teen reuniting with his pooch, Jada, on WREG. The woman, who identified herself as the boy's mother, contacted the TV station when she saw the story, KTLA reports.

She said she reported the boy missing last summer to police in Senatobia, Mississippi after he ran away after being grounded over misbehavior.

“I started crying,” she said. “I wish he would come home. I want to see him. I’m not mad at him. I just want him in my house. I want him to be here with me.”

The woman expressed remorse that her son ran away over a grounding.

“He didn’t think he should have to be grounded for something he had done,” she said. “He thought he was grown and he could do it on his own. The fact that he thought he had to run away breaks my heart.”

Police said the boy had found a place to stay with Jada. He had not been reunited with his mother, who says she has full custody, and police have not said why, according to KTLA.

“I don’t care about the past. I just want my baby, and anybody should understand that when they lose a child and he’s still alive and he can come back at any time, but instead of bringing him back to me, they put him with some strangers,” the woman said.