Following a scary ordeal in which Jenelle Evans’ eldest son, Jace, went missing on Monday, the teenager is now safe at home.
Jenelle’s 14-year-old son, Jace, was reported as a “runaway juvenile” to the Brunswick County Sheriff’s Department in North Carolina on Tuesday, August 15.
Per the Brunswick County Sheriff’s Department’s Facebook post (seen below), deputies went searching for Jace after he was reported missing after school.
The teen was last seen leaving his school, and the sheriff’s department provided a description of what he was wearing before he disappeared and urged locals to dial 911 if they saw Jace.
Luckily, Jace was located safe, as updated by the Brunswick County Sheriff’s Department in their Facebook post.
Following the harrowing ordeal, Jace’s mom, Jenelle, spoke with TMZ and told the outlet that getting his phone taken away prompted Jace to take off without notice.
“As a boy mom, kids can act up and rebel as I’m sure the majority of us all once did as kids, too,” Jenelle said.
Former Teen Mom 2 star Jenelle Evans says her son Jace ran off after having his phone taken away for getting in trouble at school
She continued to share, “Jace got in trouble at school, we decided to take his phone away, and that’s when he decided to run off. Jace is a good kid, and we’re not dealing with anything that most families don’t deal with while raising children.”
Jenelle made sure to note that Jace’s decision to flee wasn’t connected with her recent online spat with her husband and Jace’s stepdad, David Eason, which Monsters and Critics previously reported on.
“This has absolutely nothing to do with my situation with David,” Jenelle added. “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.”
Jenelle’s manager, August Keen, chimed in, telling TMZ in their own statement, “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.”
Jace’s stepdad, David Eason, weighs in on Jace going missing after critics question his involvement
Also adding their two cents was David, who took to his Instagram feed to record a video in light of the recent developments. In the recording, David took aim at his critics, who apparently came for him while Jace had gone missing.
“So, y’all really think you know what you’re talking about?” David asked as he addressed his naysayers. “You wanna come on here, assuming all kinds of s**t about Jace? That’s what you’re gonna do? Cuz I’ve been out here running through the f**kin’ woods for two-and-a-half hours trying to find him.”
David went on to say that after he nearly suffered a heat stroke, he was told to go home, presumably by police officers, because they employed drones, helicopters, dogs, ATVs, and dirtbikes to aid in their search and was reassured they would find him.
“Keep your opinions to yourself about me and my kids,” David captioned the video, on which he restricted commenting.
Jace is currently living with Jenelle, David, and his half-siblings Kaiser and Ensley in Jenelle’s North Carolina home after Jenelle was awarded full custody of her son.
Prior to Jenelle receiving custody of her eldest child in March 2023, Jace was living with his grandmother, Barbara Evans.
Jace’s grandmother, Barbara Evans, attempted to reach out to Jenelle amid the ordeal
Jace was reportedly having issues while in Barbara’s care, and the teenager’s needs became too much for the 70-year-old retiree to handle. As Teen Mom 2 viewers know, Barbara and Jenelle have struggled to maintain their mother-daughter relationship over the years, and it seems as though not much has improved.
Barbara also spoke with TMZ, telling the site that she spoke with Jace on Monday evening, and her grandson seemed “totally fine” during their conversation.
According to Barbara, she also reached out to Jenelle on Tuesday to see how her daughter was doing, but Jenelle allegedly said that she “didn’t want to talk and to leave her alone.”
Season 2 of Teen Mom: The Next Chapter airs on Wednesdays at 8/7c on MTV.