100+ motorcycles participate in ‘Ride for Sebastian’ held for Sebastian Rogers
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SUMNER COUNTY, Tenn. (WKRN) — Jeeps and motorcycles revved through Hendersonville Sunday afternoon, working to make sure efforts to find missing 15-year-old Sebastian Rogers don’t go silent.
“Sebastian Wayne Drake Rogers is out there somewhere, and my goal is to find him,” the teen’s father, Seth Rogers, said.
It’s been nearly three months since Sebastian was last seen at his mother and stepfather’s home, just around the corner from where he attended classes at Beech High School. For Sebastian’s father, the last 12 weeks have felt like a real-life nightmare.
“If I get sleep, I have dreams of my son. When I wake up, he’s not here,” Seth said.
Chris Hewlett with the 615 Boyz Motorcycle Club recalled meeting Seth several months ago in a field, feeling drawn to help search with his own son in mind.
“He went to Beech High School; he lived right there, less than a half a mile from here, just like Sebastian,” Hewlett said. “My son’s autistic, just like Sebastian, and if I show you a picture of my son, he looks a lot like Sebastian, and it hit home. I told my wife, I said, ‘This could have been my son, just as easy.'”
Hewlett said in a matter of roughly two weeks, he gained the support of many wanting to join in the ride to help keep Sebastian’s case alive.
“It blew up absolutely almost overnight, that we were scrambling, wasn’t ready,” Hewlett laughed. “We had people calling us: ‘Hey, I’m bringing so and so’s crew with us’…I couldn’t tell you how many nights I sat in my living room, just overwhelmed by the support.”
The event on Sunday, May 19 saw turnout from bikers who came from as far as Texas and California, along with others who requested the ride be livestreamed so they could watch from Ireland and Australia.
Wherever Sebastian might be, Seth wants him to know about the army of people still out looking for him.
“It gives me hope that my son’s case isn’t going to become a cold case,” Seth said.
Seth recently drove to North Carolina to follow up on a tip about a possible sighting of Sebastian. Although the tip did not pan out to be him, Seth said it gave him hope.
