SUMNER COUNTY, Tenn. (WKRN) — The Hendersonville community came together over the weekend, just ahead of the six-week mark since 15-year-old Sebastian Rogers went missing.
The prayer vigil was held on Saturday, April 6 outside The Rudder, where vigil organizers have been keeping stacks of flyers for any community members interested in distributing them.
“We are one, Lord God, and we believe and we decree and declare that Sebastian will come home safe and unharmed,” Minister ShaLawn Williams prayed.
Despite the ongoing search efforts, those who attended the event worked to spread messages of hope.
“You guys are Sebastian’s army,” Sebastian’s father, Seth Rogers, said. “We will find him, we will find him alive, we will find him well.”
Seth thanked everyone who had helped in the search for his son. Sebastian’s grandparents were also in attendance, after traveling from Texas for a second time to help look for their grandchild.
“He loved to talk about plants with me, he loved to talk about animals with me, he loved to go fishing, and he would say, ‘You know, Memaw, that’s our favorite sport, right?'” Sebastian’s grandmother, Robin Rogers, recalled, breaking up her tears with laughter.
However, Sebastian’s family also had a strong message for anyone looking to benefit from their search efforts or use the investigation as “clickbait.”
“If you’re going to be out here, doing what needs to be done to bring our grandson home, we appreciate it,” Robin said. “But if you’re out there just making money, stay away.”
Nevertheless, throughout the investigation, some strangers have become allies to Sebastian’s family. Karen Strahm and her son, Jaden Semich, took a special interest in the case from the beginning.
“By the fourth day, I really started to get involved. I went out searching on the fourth and fifth day, and ever since then, I’ve just been pretty vigilant with helping however I can,” Semich said.
He and Strahm organized Saturday’s vigil and have even searched for Sebastian alongside his father.
“I have children of my own, and it’s hard to not see their faces when you look at his, and I think it’s hard for every mom and dad here,” Strahm said.
Saturday’s gathering ended with attendees making hand-written messages to Sebastian, with the intention of one day sharing those writings with him.
“We can’t let this case get cold. It cannot get cold, and we will find him, and the more vigils and the more news presence and the more media coverage that we get, the more his face keeps out there, and maybe somebody will see something and they’ll say something and we’ll get Sebastian home,” Semich said.
Community members are invited to stop by The Rudder in Hendersonville and pick up flyers to distribute around the area.