A teen missing for over a week was found safe in the Atlanta area. A Candler County Sheriff’s spokesperson confirmed Friday that Haze Sikes, 15, returned home to Metter.

Heather Albinson, Sikes’ mother, said her son was aware of the search for him because he saw media reports, and called his father.

“He is safe, and he is alive,” she said. “He violated probation and is at Claxton Regional Youth Detention Center. I don’t like where he is but he’s alive and he is safe.”
Sikes took $500 from his father’s bank account and fled to Atlanta, where he once lived, she said. He was upset over a recent breakup with a teenage girl, she said.

Sikes broke probation by leaving the area, she said.