LEROY – A missing 17-year-old LeRoy teen-ager was apprehended about three miles north and east of Spring Valley on County Road 38, after several calls throughout the morning from people who had sighted his vehicle.

Thursday, March 23, 2000

LEROY – A missing 17-year-old LeRoy teen-ager was apprehended about three miles north and east of Spring Valley on County Road 38, after several calls throughout the morning from people who had sighted his vehicle. Those spotting the vehicle were able to identify the car, a black Cutlass, after it was described on television Wednesday night.

The teen, who left LeRoy Wednesday with a .22-caliber rifle and a friend’s car, had been missing for about 24 hours. He left behind him at least two notes that were found in his school locker and threatened harm to himself and others.

"We had to take it seriously," Terese Amazi, chief deputy of the Mower County Sheriff’s Department, said at a noon news conference in Austin today. Amazi, who has had previous experience both with juveniles and detective work, interviewed the teen-ager with another officer after his arrest. "He had six or eight different entries of people on a list."

According to Mower County Sheriff Barry Simonson, the "hit list" contained threats against a group of students, another against several celebrities, including Michael Jackson.

In LeRoy this morning, the mood was somber before word came that the boy had been found. Many said they "just wanted him to be found safe."

The teen-ager was unharmed, and the Fillmore County deputy who spotted and followed the car took him into custody without incident. He subsequently was incarcerated at a juvenile facility in Rochester.

"He was calm, but still threatening to harm himself," Amazi said at the news conference. Amazi added that the teen-ager didn’t point to any particular incident at home or school that led to his departure from school Wednesday, just that "there were so many things going on in his head that he didn’t know how to cope." She said he didn’t appear remorseful.

No charges have been filed yet.

Simonson said his department was preparing a report that would be turned over to Mower County Attorney Patrick Oman. Possible charges include car theft, because the car initially was borrowed from a friend, and terroristic threats on a felony level.

School will resume Friday.