Search for 9 boys from unlicensed NM youth camp amidst abuse probe
The search for nine teenagers reported missing from a ranch for troubled youth is moving forward Saturday, authorities said, despite claims from the facility's attorney that the boys were OK and being taken back to their parents.
Until officers can "visually confirm the children are safe or in confidence know that" the search will continue and the Amber Alert issued for the boys will stand, New Mexico State Police spokesman Sgt. Emmanuel Gutierrez said Friday night.
The search comes after the Albuquerque Journal reported last week that state authorities were investigating claims that teenage boys were beaten and forced to wear leg shackles and handcuffs for minor violations of rules at the unlicensed program.
A search warrant was executed Friday as part of the investigation of abuse at the Tierra Blanca High Country Youth Program, located at a 30,000-acre compound in high desert country, about seven miles from Hillsboro. Officials said that the teens, ages 13 and 17, weren't at the property in Sierra County, nor was program operator Scott Chandler, who has been named a person of interest in the case.
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http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/10/12/nm-boys-camp-missing/2971157/
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