A New Jersey mother has been charged with obstructing the administration of law after her 17-year-old son, reported missing by his father, was found hiding in a crawl space in her home, authorities confirmed. Jennifer Buckley of East Brunswick was arrested after investigators determined the boy had been in the basement space the entire time and that she had helped conceal him, according to police.
The case began when the teenager's father reported that his son was not at a scheduled drop-off on Tuesday evening. When officers contacted Buckley, she told them the boy was not at her house and that she could not find him, police said. She also reportedly told officers that her son did not want to go to his father's home and expressed concern that he might be a danger to himself.
The East Brunswick Police Department said it launched an extensive effort to locate the juvenile, with patrol officers and other personnel devoting significant resources to the search while detectives conducted a follow-up investigation over the following days. The teen's information was entered into the National Crime Information Center as part of the effort.
That investigation uncovered a number of discrepancies in Buckley's account, according to authorities. When police eventually searched her home, they found the boy hiding in a crawl space in the basement. Officers determined he had been there the whole time and that his mother had helped conceal him. There is no evidence he was harmed in any way, police said.
Buckley was arrested and charged with obstructing the administration of law. The charge is a disorderly persons offense under New Jersey law, which carries potential penalties including fines and a short jail term, though the exact consequences would depend on the outcome of the case.
East Brunswick Police Chief Frank LoSacco said the department takes missing juvenile reports seriously, particularly when there are concerns for a child's safety. «Whenever a juvenile is reported missing, particularly when there are concerns for that child's safety, our officers take the report seriously and commit the resources necessary to locate them,» LoSacco said in a statement. «I commend the patrol officers, detectives and other personnel who worked diligently to locate this juvenile and ensure his safety.»
LoSacco added that providing false or misleading information to law enforcement undermines those efforts and unnecessarily diverts officers and resources away from community members who may need immediate police assistance. The case highlights the tension between a parent's desire to protect a child and the legal obligation to cooperate with authorities during a missing-person investigation.
The teenager was found safe, and no injuries were reported. The investigation remains active, and Fox News Digital has reached out to the East Brunswick Police Department for additional information. It was not immediately clear whether Buckley has retained an attorney or entered a plea.
Missing-person cases involving juveniles typically trigger a rapid and resource-intensive response from local police, including entry into national databases and coordination with other agencies. When authorities determine that a report was intentionally misleading, they can pursue obstruction charges, which are intended to deter conduct that wastes investigative resources and delays the location of a person who may be at risk.
The East Brunswick Police Department has not released further details about the circumstances that led to the discrepancies in Buckley's account or about the teenager's current living arrangements. The case is expected to proceed through the local court system.