The family and attorney of 15- year-old Quawan “Bobby” Charles seek answers after he left his home on October 30th with a friend and his friend’s mother without his parents’ permission. He was found deceased three days later near Loreauville, LA.
Roxanne Nelson, Bobby’s mother, began calling him to see where he was after noticing he was missing but she got no response from her child. Bobby’s parents called 911 to report his disappearance to the Baldwin Police Department and West St. Mary Sheriff’s Office. However, officers told Roxanne that he was probably at a football game. Despite the family’s action, no Amber Alert was issued while he was missing.
The family launched their own investigation on October 31st, and the next day, they discovered evidence of Bobby’s whereabouts from a friend. Unfortunately, on November 3rd, Bobby was found deceased in an unidentified wooded area off Ed Broussard. The family says they were told Bobby drowned, but they believe otherwise after Bobby’s photo was spread on social media and it had shown that he had been beaten up. Many are comparing him to the lynching death of Emmett Till.
Celina Charles, the family’s spokeswoman, said, ”His face is disfigured. So there’s some explaining that needs to be done there. His face is disfigured.” The Iberia Parish Sheriff’s Office released a statement late Tuesday morning they were looking into the “suspicious circumstances” surrounding Bobby’s death. They added that they are still processing evidence and have contacted The Charles family amid the growing outrage on social media.
Attorney Ron Haley said, ” We have no answers, but were going to get them. They [officers] were told things like he’s probably at a football game, probably here there, anywhere else, and we don’t know if those delays could’ve contributed to his death. We know when there is a missing child, the most critical moment is when you first call law enforcement that the child is missing.”
Attorney Ron also issued a news release, demanding the arrest of anyone involved in Bobby’s death. No arrests have been made, and the coroner has not released any information surrounding Bobby’s death. According to KATC, the family is seeking an independent autopsy. Bobby’s family has created a GoFund Me account to help pay for the autopsy.
