FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — The U.S. Marshals Service have joined the search for a teenager who was serving probation for killing four people in a 2013 drunken-driving wreck after invoking a defense that he suffered from "affluenza."
Tarrant County Sheriff Dee Anderson said Thursday the search for 18-year-old Ethan Couch was drawing federal resources. The FBI says arrangements are being made for the bureau to join the search.
Lawyers for Couch issued a statement saying his probation officer hasn't been able to reach him for several days, prompting authorities to issue the juvenile equivalent of an arrest warrant for the teen. They're also seeking the boy's mother, Tonya Couch, with whom he had been living.
Officials say they don't know his whereabouts and have expressed concern that he may have left the country, although Sam Jordan, a spokeswoman for the Tarrant County district attorney's office, says there's no specific indication that he has crossed the border.
"He and his mother have the means to be able to travel to wherever they may want to travel," Jordan said.
The U.S. Marshals Service has issued a wanted poster promising a reward of up to $5,000 for information leading to Couch's whereabouts and capture.
Couch's attorneys claimed at trial that his irresponsible lifestyle was due to wealthy parents who coddled him.
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This story has been corrected to reflect that the FBI is arranging to join the search but hasn't formally done so yet.