A South Florida teen whose father was arrested after the teen went missing in December was found in Vero Beach but escaped after he was placed in the custody of the Department of Children and Families, police said.
Aage Jorgensen, 16, was picked up by Vero Beach Police after he was found sleeping in a bathroom in a Hampton Inn Wednesday, Plantation Police said.
Jorgensen gave officers a false name and date of birth and the Vero Beach officers were unaware he was the teen who had been last seen on Dec. 18 at American Heritage School in Plantation, police said.
"You are not going to get anything out of me. I'm a pathological liar," the teen told police, according to officials.
Vero Beach Police took the teen's photo and placed him in the custody of DCF, but he escaped and is once again missing, police said.
His father, Bruce Jorgensen, was arrested and charged with deserting his son in January. Police said the two got into a dispute in a car near their Plantation home and that Bruce Jorgensen stopped the car, told Aage to get out and then left.
For over a month, Jorgensen never notified police of his missing son, authorities said. Bruce Jorgensen's attorney said the teen was a frequent runaway who was usually found by his father.
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Bruce said he's happy to know his son is alive and made a plea for him to come home. He spent nearly a month in jail after he was charged with deserting a child. The charge was dropped earlier this month.
DCF released a statement that read in part: "The welfare and safety of Aage is of the utmost importance to the Department. Child protective investigators are working with law enforcement and his father to safely locate the teen."
