The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation issued a statewide Endangered Child Alert on Wednesday for five missing siblings who are thought to be with their noncustodial parents, according to X, formerly Twitter.
The five boys come from Athens, Tennessee. Kaidren Heath is 11 years old, Karson Pendergrass is 5, Andrew Pendergrass is 4, Lucas Pendergrass is 4, and Malachi Pendergrass is 2.
The agency believes the youngsters have been missing since October 21, last seen in a white GMC Acadia with the Tennessee tag 521 BMMM.
Kaidren is characterized as standing 5 feet tall, weighing 70 pounds, with brown hair and hazel eyes.
Karson stands four-foot-five, weighs fifty pounds, and has blonde hair and blue eyes.
Andrew and Lucas stand four feet tall, weigh forty pounds, and have brown hair and eyes.
Malachi stands 3 feet tall and weighs 30 pounds. He has blond hair and blue eyes.
ABC 33/40 stated that the Endangered Child Alert went out shortly before 4 a.m.
The Athens Police Department responded to a report of five missing children from the Athens Department of Children’s Services (DCS) on October 22, according to a media release Newsweek obtained.
According to the media alert, the “DCS case worker on scene stated that the mother and father of the five children were advised that the children would be placed in state custody per a court order.” The father then instructed the children and his wife to get up and leave the office. DCS Case Workers were able to obtain a vehicle description for law enforcement.
The media notice stated that an “active court order and the father failing to comply with the court order” led to the removal of the children into state custody. The 10th District Attorney’s Office issued felony warrants for the father. Kurtis Pendergrass of Athens, age 30, is the father.
The man then reportedly departed the DCS office in a white GMC Acadia. “The mother, father, and children are believed to be in the Georgia area, according to sources,” a press release stated.
The Athens Police Department stated that it is collaborating with Georgia law enforcement, federal, state, and municipal agencies, as well as Flock Safety.
Anyone with information on the children’s whereabouts should contact the Athens Police Department at 423-745-3222 or the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation at 1-800-TBI-FIND.
Tennessee provides numerous forms of notifications when individuals, both children and adults, go missing, including the Amber Alert, Silver Alert, Endangered Child Alert, Endangered Young Adult Alert (Holly Bobo Act), and the Missing Children List.
On their website, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation states that they issue Endangered Child Alerts “for missing children cases in which there is a concern for the child’s safety.”
The website states that the TBI notifies local media in specific regions of the state about the missing child and any additional available information when it issues an Endangered Child Alert. The TBI also uses social media to disseminate vital information.
The website lists 14 children, including the five boys, with active missing child warnings, the earliest of which dates back to 2011.
According to Child Find of America, 78% of abductors were noncustodial parents, with 35% of taken children aged 6 to 11.
