ROMULUS (WWJ) -- A metro Detroit teen who has been missing for over a year has resurfaced on TikTok, but his mother still believes he's in danger.
Shane McLaughlin, 17, first left his Flat Rock home around two years ago. He eventually returned and was staying at a home in Romulus when he disappeared for the second time on Oct. 19, 2020.
At that time, McLaughlin’s mother Nicole Quarrels reported him missing to Romulus Police, and she has been actively searching for him ever since.
Now, it seems that McLaughlin has issued a response to the efforts to find him through a series of TikTok videos, the first of which was posted last week.
With his missing poster in the background, a masked teen identifying himself as Shane McLaughlin claims that he ran away from home after suffering untreated depression and anxiety, as well physical and emotional abuse.
McLaughlin alleges that his mental health issues began when he was around 14-years-old, and though he sought help from his mother, he was told to “get over it.”
He says he was often grounded and isolated, and eventually, he began to be physically abused by his mother.
According to McLaughlin, he alerted police and Child Protective Services about the abuse, but when no one helped him, he decided to leave on his own accord.
“I’m doing great on my own, I’m doing fine,” he says. “I don’t need nobody. You guys might think because I’m young I need someone to rely on, but I don’t. I’m perfectly capable of living by myself. There is no one that I need in my life. I just want to be alone.”
McLaughlin’s mother, Nicole Quarrels, has confirmed through her own TikTok that the boy in the videos is indeed her son, but denies the claims of abuse.
Quarrels also alleges he is being manipulated to make the TikTok videos by an adult woman whom she seems to know.
“Those accusations are not true and I believe he is still being brainwashed and manipulated and I fear for his life,” she says. “I won’t stop looking for Shane because I know that he’s probably not safe and he’s probably not okay.”
Quarrels goes on to say that she will call off the search for her son when he agrees to meet with police and confirm his well-being.
WWJ has calls out to Romulus Police for more information.
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