Alabama authorities are looking for a pregnant 17-year-old and her 9-month-old son who were reported missing March 27 in Jackson County.
Shayla Hope Wood, of Flat Rock, Alabama, is 12-15 weeks into her second pregnancy and has no known medical conditions. She is described as white, 5 feet, 2 inches tall, 190 pounds with brown hair and brown eyes, according to a Jackson County Sheriff's Office news release. She has a birthmark on her forehead.
There's no evidence of foul play so far, but investigators haven't ruled out any possibilities, Chief Deputy Rocky Harnen said Monday.
But Harnen said it's not the first time Wood has gone missing.
Seventeen-year-old Shayla Hope Wood of Flat Rock, Alabama, is 12-15 weeks into her second pregnancy and was reported missing March 27 along with her 9-month-old son."She did this before about two years ago," Harnen said. "But we're still taking it serious and looking in it with her having the infant with her."
In fact, when officers placed Wood's information into the National Crime Information Center, a clearinghouse used by law enforcement to list missing or wanted people and stolen property, she was still listed from the last time she vanished, Harnen said.
Harnen said Wood had been found in Etowah County that time, but NCIC records were never updated.
"So we had to show her recovered and missing on the same day," Harnen said.
Wood has connections in DeKalb, Jackson and Marshall counties in Alabama and could be anywhere in nearby Tennessee and Georgia, too, Harnen said. He said the teen's family didn't mention an incident or argument that could have triggered Wood's and her baby's disappearance.
"Her mama came home and they were gone," he said.
Anyone with information about the whereabouts of Wood or her infant child should contact local law enforcement or the Jackson County Sheriff's Office at 256-574-2610.
Contact staff writer Ben Benton at bbenton@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6569. Follow him on Twitter @BenBenton or at www.facebook.com/benbenton1.