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UPDATE 8/15/2023 6.52 PM EST: “Jace has been found, and is safely at home with Jenelle and his family, thank you to the Brunswick Co. Sheriff’s Department and to everyone else for their concerns,” Jenelle’s rep confirmed to TMZ in a statement soon after officials confirmed that her son had been located. The Brunswick Co. Sheriff’s Department referred HollywoodLife to their official Facebook account where they updated the community on the matter. “***UPDATE: Runaway Juvenile Located and Safe***,” the statement read on the social media page.
UPDATE 8/15/2023 6.31 PM EST: As of 3.11 PM PST on Aug. 15, the Brunswick Co. Sheriff’s Department confirmed to TMZ that Jace has been found and is safe. No other information on the matter has been released at this time.
ORIGINAL STORY: Teen Mom 2 alum Jenelle Evans, 31, and her family are looking for her son, Jace, 14, who was reported as a runaway on Aug. 15 in North Carolina. “As a boy mom, kids can act up and rebel as I’m sure the majority of us all once did as kids too. Jace, got in trouble at school, we decided to take his phone away and that’s when he decided to run off,” she told TMZ in a statement that afternoon.
The proud mother-of-three went on to reassure the outlet that Jace’s actions to run away from home were not related to her ongoing drama with her husband, David Eason. “Jace is a good kid and we’re not dealing with anything that most families don’t deal with while raising children, this has absolutely nothing to do with my situation with David,” her statement continued. “we do not argue in front of our children or fight in front of our kids. This is a teenage boy being a teenager mad that we decided to take his phone away.” HollywoodLife reached out to the Brunswick County Sherriff’s Office for comment but did not receive an immediate response.
Officers with the Brunswick Co. Sheriff’s Department in North Carolina told TMZ, that Jace was last spotted leaving school around 2.45 PM on Aug. 15. They noted that he is likely wearing a gray sweatshirt with the writing “Classical Charter Schools of America.” Jace can also likely be wearing a navy blue shirt if he has taken the sweatshirt off, per the tabloid. Those with information on the matter are asked to call 911. Barbara Evans, who is Jace’s maternal grandmother, spoke to the outlet and revealed that she last chatted with the teen on Aug. 14. She told the outlet that he seemed “totally fine.”
Jenelle recently took to Instagram on Aug. 2 to celebrate her son’s 14th birthday. She shared two photos with him and a sweet caption to commemorate the big day. “14 YEARS OLD EVERYONE! #HappyBirthday to Jace! You’re growing into a such polite young man. I’m happy as long as you’re happy! @jace_vahn,” she captioned the post at the time. The TV personality welcomed her eldest son with her ex, Andrew Lewis, during her teen years.
Jace’s mom made her mom, Barbara, her son’s legal guardian shortly after his birth in 2009. Despite this, on Mar. 18, 2023, Jenelle took to Instagram to reveal that she was granted custody over her son after years of not being his official guardian. “#MyHappyEnding , ITS OFFICIAL! Thanks everyone for the support! Words cant descibe how happy i truly am. Our family is complete now! Thank you mom,” she gushed in the caption of the video.
The clip pictured Jenelle signing the paperwork to obtain parental rights over Jace again. The Teen Mom: The Next Chapter star also went on to welcome two more kids including her son Kaiser Orion, 9, with her ex-boyfriend Nathan Griffith, and daughter Ensley Jolie, 6, with David.
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