Police said the 17-year-old was found in a basement crawl space after officers spent days searching for him.
EAST BRUNSWICK, N.J. — A New Jersey mother was arrested and charged with obstruction after police said her 17-year-old son, who had been reported missing, was found hiding in a basement crawl space at her East Brunswick home.
The investigation began Sept. 15 after the teenager’s father contacted East Brunswick police at about 7:47 p.m. and reported that his son had not arrived for a scheduled 6 p.m. drop-off, authorities said. Police said the boy’s mother, Jennifer Buckley, told officers that her son was not at her residence and that she could not locate him.
Buckley also told investigators that the teenager was upset and had said he did not want to go to his father’s home, according to police. She expressed concern that he could be a danger to himself. Based on those reported safety concerns, officers treated the matter as a missing juvenile case and entered the teenager’s information into the National Crime Information Center database.
The Police Department said patrol officers and other personnel devoted significant resources to finding the boy while detectives conducted follow-up work over the next several days. Investigators later identified what authorities described as discrepancies in information they had received during the search. Detectives then returned to Buckley’s residence as part of the continuing investigation.
Police searched the home and found the 17-year-old hiding inside a crawl space in the basement, authorities said. Investigators alleged that the teenager had remained at the residence while he was listed as missing and that Buckley had helped conceal his whereabouts from law enforcement. Authorities said there was no evidence that the teenager had been harmed.
Buckley was arrested and charged with obstructing the administration of law. East Brunswick police cited New Jersey’s obstruction statute in announcing the charge. The allegation has not been adjudicated, and the available reports did not describe a conviction or other final disposition in the case.
The case drew attention because police had treated the report as a potential threat to a juvenile’s safety. Missing-child investigations can require officers and detectives to quickly direct personnel toward locating a child, particularly when authorities receive information suggesting the child could be in danger. Police said that was the concern presented to investigators when the search began.
East Brunswick Police Chief Frank LoSacco praised the officers and detectives involved in locating the teenager. He said reports involving missing juveniles are taken seriously and that officers commit resources needed to confirm a child’s safety. LoSacco also said providing “false or misleading information” can interfere with those efforts and divert police resources from other people who may need immediate assistance.
Police have not publicly detailed why the teenager did not want to go to his father’s residence, and the available reports do not establish the circumstances surrounding the family’s scheduled drop-off arrangement. Authorities also have not publicly provided a detailed account of how the teenager spent the period he was reported missing or how long he remained inside the crawl space.
The teenager was ultimately found safe, ending the missing-person search. Buckley’s obstruction charge remains the central legal development stemming from the investigation, and no additional charges or publicly scheduled court proceedings were identified in the latest reports reviewed Sunday.
Author note: Last updated September 20, 2026.