By JADE RUSSELL

Tribune Staff Reporter

jrussell@tribunemedia.net

AS her son’s 18th birthday passes, the mother of missing teenager Devin Isaacs fears police have abandoned the search for him as his milestone makes the hope of reunification even more uncertain.

“Long time they give up. I don’t know if they even start looking,” said his mother, Tashana Thompson.

Devin was 16 when he vanished from his home in May 2024. Four days later, police issued a Marco’s Alert. In July 2024, Police Commissioner Clayton Fernander released CCTV footage showing a car parked two houses away from Devin’s home shortly after midnight. The footage captured him leaving, briefly returning, then walking off again towards Carmichael Road. Additional footage later showed him near Rubis Service Station on Carmichael Road, heading west alone.

From the outset, police suggested he may have run away, but Ms Thompson has always rejected that theory. She believes her son is being held against his will and pleaded: “If somebody have him, let him go.”

Now that Devin is legally an adult, the family’s agony has deepened. His mother worries that even if he is found, authorities may see less urgency in ensuring his return.

Ms Thompson said the last she spoke to police was in September 2024. However, her latest attempt to get an update from police came when she went to the Criminal Investigations Department missing persons unit about two months ago. She said officers never came out to meet her. “I sit out there for like, 45 minutes waiting, and nobody never came out,” she said. “Three different officers called them, nobody came out.”

Asked whether she considered filing a complaint, she said it would be pointless because “the police always protect their officers.”

Since his disappearance, Ms Thompson and her family have searched across New Providence, chasing leads and distributing flyers. The silence has been crushing, but she refuses to give up hope.

“I don’t know where else to look,” she said. “I still believe he alive and I waiting for him to come home.”

She continues to offer a $2,000 reward for his return.