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Mother reports missing teen to police, learns 2 days later he was jailed by same agency

As a local mother searched everywhere for her son, another teen who was arrested with him was sent home. It took two days - and a call from 11Alive - for her to learn where her son was.
(Photo: Provided)

JONESBORO, Ga. -- A teen who walked out of school after a half day of class on Monday has been found jailed by the very same agency a mother went to for help two days earlier.

Clayton County police confirmed, Wednesday, that 14-year-old Beau Ingram was arrested the same day he disappeared on charges of criminal trespass and burglary despite being reported missing.

"They left me to think he was in a ditch," his mother told 11Alive. "They left me thinking something truly horrible had happened to my son."

Tanya said she was out searching when she received a call from 11Alive's Faith Abubey regarding the fact that he was found. She didn't know.

RELATED: Mom 'worried to death' for son last seen at school Monday morning

"Their protocol, I just don't understand it," Tanya said. "They had him the whole time and I called Clayton County Police and they had him the whole time."

Beau said he tried to make a collect call to his mom Monday night, but when no one was home to accept the charges, he wasn't allowed to use the phone again.

But Beau has a record with the department of juvenile justice and Tanya said her address and cell phone number were already in his file.

Despite having his information on file from previous run-ins, police allegedly failed to make contact with Beau's mother.

"He's not a perfect child, no, but he's not destructive or violent," Tanya said. "I wouldn't call him a delinquent no."

It all began when Beau was dropped off at school Monday morning at the Perry Learning Center off of Spring Street in Jonesboro, Georgia.

His mother said she knew they had a half-day so she told Beau that she would be there at 11:15 a.m. to pick him up if she could get out of work. If not, he would have to walk home - something he sometimes does.

She managed to get off and arrived around 11:20 a.m. but said her son was nowhere to be found. From there, Tanya said she searched several places but couldn't find the young teen.

"I was running a bit behind," she explained. "I waited outside the school, circled the park area behind the school, the Burger King, everywhere... he wasn't nowhere to be seen."

11Alive reached out to the Clayton County Police Department for more information on Tuesday, but since Beau was on school property, they said the school district's police department would be the ones to investigate.

It turns out that Beau was arrested just 9 minutes after his mother arrived at the school. He was just down the road where he and another teen who lives nearby were arrested for breaking the window of a house.

The homeowner called the police who picked up both. The other teen turned himself in and his parents were notified but Beau, who had prior arrests, was taken to jail.

Clayton County Police Sgt. Ashanti Marbury said that Beau's mother's contact information was on the arrest report, and she believes an attempt was made to contact her.

“Whether or not that was successful, I can’t say," Marbury said. "But since the mom is saying she didn’t get a call, I’d assume it wasn’t.”

Asked if they should have made more attempts or if they plan to change anything as a result of the way they handled this, Marbury said they did everything according to policy. She says once they turn him over to juvenile detention authorities, he’s no longer their responsibility.

Tanya was relieved to see her son in a jail jumpsuit on Wednesday because she knew he was alive. But she's furious she had to go through this in the first place.

"I'm relieved and angry at the same time," she said.

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