Decatur, GA — DeKalb County Police say “foul play” is suspected in the disappearance of a local teenager.

Anthony “AJ” Haszelton Jr., 16, previously attended high school in City Schools of Decatur. He was last seen on April 19 at his Decatur home. He is 6 feet tall and was wearing a black Nike tracksuit and white shoes.

Police held a press conference on May 22 to discuss the case.

A spokesperson for the Police Department said, “Initially, his disappearance was being investigated as a possible runaway, but evidence has led investigators to believe foul play to be involved.”

Police became involved on April 23 after meeting with Haszelton‘s mother who told officers she believed her son was in danger. She told police she last saw her son at 11:30 a.m. on Sunday, April 19. That evening, she discovered a young girl hiding in her son’s closet. The girl said she was waiting for Haszelton to come back after running an errand.

Initially, Haszelton‘s mother wasn’t concerned when her son didn’t return because he had a history of running away. The next day, she received a call from another unknown female who told her that her son was in “grave danger,” according to the incident report.

The female told Haszelton‘s mom that he had gone to Greene County with an older man who is also a known gang member.

Haszelton told this person that if he didn’t return by 3 p.m. that day, then “something bad had happened to him.” She contacted Haszleton’s mother when she didn’t hear back from him.

She gave Haszleton’s mother a phone number of the suspected gang member, but his mother was unable to contact this individual.

Haszelton‘s mother then “contacted [the] police/sheriff department and requested a wellness check at [an address in] Union Point, GA based on a location provided to her by some of her son’s friends. The police discovered that the location was abandoned.”

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