Arrest warrant issued for dad after special needs child visiting in Katy for the summer now missing

Authorities are trying to find a missing teen with special needs who hasn't been seen in a month.

KATY, Texas - A mother is hoping you can help her find her missing 13-year-old son who's special needs.

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Shannon Patrick has driven hundreds of miles to the Houston area to find her son Marcus Lewis Jr. who was supposed to be returned to her by his dad this summer. Now it’s autumn and she has no idea where her son or his father is.

"Someone put their hands on me," the 13-year-old tearfully says in a recorded FaceTime call.

It's the last phone call Marcus Lewis Jr. made to his mom.

"He’s crying," Patrick explains. "He looks hysterical. He’s like someone put their hands on me and I’m like Marcus what?"

According to a police report, the 13-year old who lives in Colorado with his mom and stepdad came to visit his dad Marcus Lewis Sr. in Katy, TX for two weeks in July 2021 and was set to return to Colorado on August 1. When the 13-year-old wasn’t returned Patrick tried calling her son and her ex-husband and couldn’t reach them. Five days later came that FaceTime phone call.

"We were like oh my gosh it’s Marcus. So we recorded the call and on the call, he was crying out for help saying someone abused him, hurt him," explains Marcus’ Stepdad Cole Rodriguez.

"Oh my God, it was horrible," adds Marcus’ mom and she hasn’t been able to reach her son since."He looks up at someone. He looks petrified and someone says something and then the phone disconnects."

Marcus is 13 but has a cognitive developmental delay and functions on a 7 or 8-year-old level. A warrant out of Colorado has now been issued for the arrest of Marcus Lewis Sr. for failure to follow a court order.

"Just turn yourself in," says Rodriguez. "You have a warrant. Go about it the legal way through the courts."

MORE MISSING PERSONS COVERAGE

The couple has reached out to CPS and the Harris County Sheriff’s Office has joined in the search. So has Texas Equusearch.

"Someone knows where Marcus is," Angelina Farris with TX Equusearch. "If they feel afraid to call law enforcement or afraid to contact other authorities maybe they can give us a call and let us know where Marcus is or return Marcus to his family."

"If Marcus is watching, first and foremost we love you. I love you I’ve been here a month looking for you," says his mom and stepdad.

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Shannon Patrick says she won’t leave Texas without her son. She also says she contacted Marcus Lewis Sr.'s job and she was told he suddenly quit a month ago. Marcus Lewis Jr isn't enrolled in school as far as his mom can tell.

Harris County Sheriff’s Office investigators say they haven’t been able to locate the father or son either.