A look at the search for Texas teen in ‘affluenza’ case

Federal authorities have joined the hunt for Texas teen Ethan Couch, who has gone missing two years after getting probation for killing four people in a drunken driving crash.

Anderson also believes the teen’s mother, Tanya Couch-also missing-may be aiding her son in avoiding captivity, a crime she would be charged for should it turn out to be the case. Anytime he gets anywhere we could apprehend him, we’re going to find him. We’re going to find you, wherever you are.

Authorities who fear affluenza teen Ethan Couch and his mom have left the country have issued foran arrest warrant for the teen.

Anderson thinks Couch and his mother chose to leave when video surfaced on Twitter appearing to show him laughing at a beer pong party.

Judge Jean Hudson Boyd made a decision to sentence Couch, then 16, to ten years of probation.

Ethan is supposed to be in rehab and on probation after a 2013 crash when he got behind the wheel with a blood alcohol level three times the legal limit.

Prosecutors had sought 20 years in prison for Couch, but judges handed him a surprise sentence of mental-health treatment and a decade of probation.

The youth last met his probation officer around the time the video went public and did not return after that, according to sources familiar with the investigation.

The controversy reignited this month after the emergence of a video showing Couch at a party taking part in a drinking game, which violated the terms of his probation.

“It’s one of those times when you hate to say, ‘I told you so, ‘ but I told you so”, Sheriff Anderson said. He referred to this underdeveloped moral state as “affluenza”, brought about by his rich parents’ indulgence and failure to teach him the concept of personal responsibility.

The Texas teenager whose trial on drunk driving charges included a defense witness saying that he was afflicted with “affluenza” may be on the run from his parole, authorities said.

Grisham said officials were interviewing people every day to track Couch and his mother down. He struck and killed four pedestrians as well as injuring two of his own passengers who remain paralysed.

The impact killed Shelbie Boyles, her mother Hollie, their friend Breanna Mitchell and a passerby and pastor, Brian Jennings, who stopped to help. “They have the ability to do that, and do it quickly”, Anderson said late Thursday. Attorneys said he was the product of a dysfunctional and abusive family – parents who condoned drug and alcohol use and never set boundaries.

Sam Jordan, spokeswoman for the Tarrant County district attorney’s office, said investigators with Tarrant County Juvenile Services and with the district attorney’s office are searching for the two.

One expert says we’ll be seeing this wanted fugitive again soon.