The parents of missing Arizona teenager Jarrett Brooks suspect he may be being held against his will after he disappeared more than a year ago.
The young cowboy disappeared on July 4, 2023 after his parents grounded him for driving his vehicle off-road.
The Navajo County Sheriff’s Office led the investigation and discovered security camera footage that showed Jarrett, then 16, taking a firearm from the family’s gun safe and placing it in his waistband.
A neighboring rancher said he saw the teen cross his pasture and that police were searching the area. His parents believe he met someone and left the area.
“We strongly believe he hitched a ride from that area. The dogs followed his scent across the road to the pasture and he stopped in the pasture there,” said his mother Laura Brooks. NewsNation Prime presenter Natasha Zouves.
Arizona teenager Jarrett Brooks disappeared on July 4, 2023 after his parents punished him for driving a vehicle off-road
Jarrett’s parents believe the teen (pictured bottom left as a child) may be being held against his will
“That area has been searched extensively with dogs and drones. There was even a helicopter flying over it and that area has been searched numerous times since he went missing and there is no sign of him there. So all we have left to do is that he was picked up from the area.”
Laura Brooks told NewsNation that the last time she saw her son was around 6 a.m. on that Fourth of July. When she realized he was gone about an hour later, the family began a frantic search for him.
A ranch reporter in the area saw someone matching Jarrett’s description walking through his pasture. The boy’s father, Brian Brooks, said the neighbor described him as “rushing.”
Security footage from the home showed Jarrett grabbing a gun from the family’s gun safe and putting it in his waistband
A neighboring rancher said he saw the teen cross his pasture and police searched the area. His parents believe he met someone and left the area
The family suspects Jarrett was picked up by someone he had just met and took the gun with him as a precaution.
“He’s out there somewhere. I don’t think he’s safe, and I don’t think he would have been out that long on his own,” the teen’s father said. AZFamilie.
Brian Brooks dismissed concerns that his son would harm himself after investigators found footage showing Jarrett reaching for a gun.
“That wasn’t Jarrett’s mindset. He’s not that kid,” his father said.
The Navajo County Sheriff’s Office has served multiple search warrants in various parts of Arizona in an attempt to locate the teen.
On the first anniversary of his disappearance, the sheriff said there were “no successful results in determining what happened to Jarrett”
Jarrett, the middle child of seven siblings, is described by his family as a typical teenager with a big smile and a laugh
On the first anniversary of his disappearance, the department reported that “no successful results had been achieved in determining what happened to Jarrett.”
“Jarrett is a son, brother, grandson, nephew and friend. He will be missed by family, friends and his community. If you have any information on the whereabouts of Jarrett, please call our office,” the sheriff’s office said.
Jarrett, the middle of seven siblings, is described by his family as a typical teenager with a big smile and a laugh.
‘[He was] the family clown,’ said Brian Brooks. ‘He has an incredible sense of humor. He has an infectious, crazy laugh.’