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On Thursday, July 7, 12-year-old St Lucie county boy Leon Scarborough was officially reported missing by local authorities. According to TCPalm, the child was last seen in the area of 6500 block of Nuevo Lagos street. Officials believe that he may have been abducted by his father, 54-year-old Indian River County man Tracey Scarborough.
Trigger warning: this article concerns a child abduction, the reader's discretion is advised.
According to the St Lucie County Sheriff's Office, Leon Scarborough is 5 foot 6 inches tall and 130 pounds. He is a white male with blonde hair. He is often seen wearing a silver chain. The victim's father and suspected abductor, 54-year-old Tracey Scarborough, was described by WPBF as a 6 foot tall, 180 pound bald man with hazel eyes.
The circumstances behind Leon Scarborough's disappearance
According to WBPF, authorities suspect that Tracey Scarborough kidnapped his son due to a custody dispute. On June 22, 2023, the father received a no-contact order for his son. Tracey Scarborough has also been accused of making violent threats to various people involved in the case. Due to the suspect's history of violence, authorities have advised members of the public not to approach him.
Leon Scarborough was reported missing at approximately 9 pm on Thursday. Authorities believe that he was abducted by Tracey Scarborough near his grandparent's home in Fort Pierce's Nuevo Lagos. He was last seen wearing a dark tee-shirt and yellow crocs.
As reported by Wesh, Leon Scarborough's grandparents currently have legal custody of him. They said that since Tracey Scarborough is from Indian Rivers, they believe that the 12-year-old may be with his father around the area.
On July 7, it was publicly announced that an Amber Alert had been released for Leon Scarborough. The authorities announced that it is because they believe the child may be in danger. While the case is alarming, it is unfortunately nothing unusual.
According to the official Amber Alert site, the system is used on the following grounds:
"The law enforcement agency believes that the child is in imminent danger of serious bodily injury or death. (...) There is enough descriptive information about the victim and the abduction for law enforcement to issue an AMBER Alert to assist in the recovery of the child."
As noted by Safe At Last, in 90% of child abduction cases, the parents emerge as suspect. Approximately three in ever 1000 children are abducted by their parents on an annual basis. This accounts for almost 5% of children across the US. Much like the case of Leon Scarborough, these abductions often come on the heels of no-contact orders or custody disputes.
The Journalist's Resource reported that in a majority of cases, the suspects accused of abducting their own children were women. Mothers and other women family members were reportedly responsible for approximately 60% of all kidnappings.
