Jenelle Evans, the former star of Teen Mom 2, had a scare when her 14-year-old son Jace went missing for the second time in a month. According to TMZ, Jenelle called the police on Aug. 28 after Jace did not return home for several hours and did not answer his phone. The police found Jace at a gas station 10 minutes away from his family’s property in North Carolina. Jenelle’s manager, August Keen, confirmed to E! News that Jace was safe and back home with Jenelle and her husband, David Eason.
August explained that Jace was “out roaming the property like he usually does” and “went off to the gas station, without telling Jenelle.” He added that “the family is fine” and “nothing to be alarmed about.” He also said that Jace is “a teenager finding his independence, wanting a bit more freedom, and Jenelle is a momma bear.”
Jace’s Previous Runaway Incident
This was not the first time that Jace ran away from home in recent weeks. On Aug. 15, Jace was reported missing after he left school early without permission. Jenelle told TMZ at the time that she and David took away Jace’s phone as a punishment for getting “in trouble at school.” She said that Jace “decided to run off” because he was angry about losing his phone. He was later found safe by the police.
Jenelle also denied that her situation with David had anything to do with Jace’s behavior. She said that they “do not argue in front of our children or fight in front of our kids.” She added that Jace is “a good kid” and they are “not dealing with anything that most families don’t deal with while raising children.”
Jenelle’s Custody Battle with Her Mom
Jenelle has been fighting for custody of Jace for years. She gave birth to him when she was 17 and her mom, Barbara Evans, took over his care in 2009. In March 2023, Jenelle announced that she had regained full custody of Jace after reaching an agreement with Barbara. She shared a video on Instagram of her signing the paperwork and said that she and Barbara “decided together to grant full custody back to me because we want to build our relationship back as mother and daughter.”
Jenelle also celebrated Jace’s 14th birthday on Aug. 2 with a sweet Instagram post. She wrote, “14 YEARS OLD EVERYONE! #HappyBirthday to Jace! You’re growing into a such polite young man. I’m happy as long as you’re happy!”