The father of missing Tennessee teen Sebastian Rogers admits he has "renewed" faith in law enforcement nine months after his son's perplexing disappearance.
"Today, [law enforcement] have renewed my faith that they are definitely focusing on bringing my son home," Seth Rogers said Saturday, hinting toward a recent meeting with investigators, according to WKRN-TV.
Rogers did not elaborate on what triggered the restored confidence.
That same day, he also marked Sebastian's 16th birthday.
"It's a lot of sadness every day...It's hard to wrap your head around it. Every day, it's like [you're waiting for] that phone call, waiting for that picture, waiting for information that my son has been found," he told the station.
Sebastian, who has autism, vanished from the Hendersonville, Tennessee, home he shared with his mom, Katie Proudfoot, and stepdad, Chris Proudfoot, Feb. 25.
Since then, Rogers has been collaborating with Duane "Dog the Bounty Hunter" Chapman in tracking down his missing son.
Over the weekend on X, Chapman announced a $225,000 reward for information on Sebastian's whereabouts, accompanied by a clip of the teen dining at the Texas Roadhouse with his mom Feb. 25.
Last month, the former bail bondsman said he's working on "new leads from Oregon and New York" and "moving fast on them."
Appearing on the YouTube show Break The Case hosted by ex-FBI agent Jennifer Coffindaffer, Chapman did not shy away from who he thinks knows what happened to Sebastian.
"I just can't believe that... the stepfather would allegedly... run people off," Chapman said, explaining his suspicions the Proudfoots may be involved.
He claimed Sebastian's stepfather was "harassing" volunteer searchers, discouraging the public from helping track down the missing teen, and stating "the cops are... enough" for the search.
Chapman alleged the teen was "stashed somewhere" due to an ongoing custody battle between his parents, according to an interview with NewsNation in September.
"We're seeing a domestic squabble over a child," he purported.
"This is one of the most horrendous cases of missing children that we've ever, ever worked on," added Chapman.
Rogers previously alleged finding Sebastian "doesn't feel like a shared goal" with his ex and her husband.
