THE Department of Public Safety is warning individuals sheltering a minor in a truancy case that they may be charged with a criminal offense.
DPS has reclassified the case of missing 15-year-old Tegan Quitano as one of truancy.
According to online sources, truancy is any intentional, unjustified, unauthorized, or illegal absence from compulsory education. It is a deliberate absence by a student’s own free will and usually does not refer to legitimate excused absences, such as ones related to medical conditions.
Assistant Chief of Police Simon Manacop, DPS’s acting public information officer, said on Monday: “Despite efforts to contact and locate Tegan Quitano, detectives believe that Tegan refuses to return to immediate family members. [The Criminal Investigation Bureau] would like to remind the community that Tegan is a minor child, and that no consent was given by parents/guardians to house or shelter her. Those assisting in sheltering a minor without consent may be charged with a criminal offense.”
DPS is urging anyone who may have seen or made recent contact with Tegan to call the Criminal Investigation Bureau at (670) 664-9042, DPS at (670) 664-9001 or the Crime Stoppers Hotline at (670) 234-7272 if they wish to remain anonymous.
Tegan was reported missing last week after failing to report to school.
On Friday, DPS stated that the last contact was made by a friend several nights ago in Kagman. Several attempts to contact her phone, to include messages, had gone unanswered. Tegan was last seen wearing a black shirt with sweatpants when she was picked up by an SUV in Kagman. The witness was unable to describe the SUV’s make, model or color.
Tegan Quitano
