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Thursday, August 30, 2012

News Two Teenage Boys Flee Small Indiana Town In Parents Mercedes

Posted by Dan Savage on Thu, Aug 30, 2012 at 1:28 PM

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ABCNews:

Two Indiana teenagers who left notes for their parents saying they were "sorry" and "starting new lives" have taken off in a Mercedes Benz for an unknown destination. The parents of Jordan Webb, 16, and Levi "David" Briggs, 15, are begging for their sons to return home to Avon, Ind., after they fled in the middle of the night with plans to change their identities.... Both families released statements in the wake of the boys' disappearance, though they did not elaborate on why Webb or Briggs may have decided to flee their homes and families.

"Jordan is loved and missed by his family and friends. We cannot imagine life without our son, and we will not stop looking until he's home safe, no matter how long it takes," the Webbs said.

"We pray for their safety and well-being," said the Briggs family. "We want you back, David, and want to fight side-by-side for your future. We ask for our friends' prayers and any information that will help us provide for David and Jordan's safety, well-being and safe return."

Bluefield Daily Telegraph:

Webb took backpacking supplies and enough clothes to last a long time, his family said. Briggs had little more than his clothes—a pair of designer, slim-fitting jeans; a teal, white and orange shirt; and blue-grey, suede Adidas Neo shoes, size 10 1/2. Briggs is 5-feet, 10-inches, blonde and usually wears hoop earrings. He left behind his glasses, so he is thought to be wearing contacts. He likes bodybuilding.... Webb's sister, Jennifer Hurtubise, said he's enrolled in various advanced placement classes, although going to high school in Avon "might not be his cup of tea."

The hashtag #FindJordanAndDavid is blowing up on Twitter. I hope the boys are safe and that they're found soon. And it sounds to me like these boys could be gay. If that's the case, and if David and Jordan felt unsafe in their community or rejected by their families, well, better runaways than suicides.

UPDATE: David and Jordan have been found, according to a Facebook page set up by their families:

The boys have been found! They were located in Colorado, safe and in police custody! This is Amazing news and we are so thankful for everyone that has helped! We could not have done this without the help of family/friends and social media! This is the biggest relief of our lives.

I wonder what David and Jordan are feeling right now.

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Comments (30) RSS

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Don't stop till ya hit Canada kids.

Posted by Kansasboy on August 30, 2012 at 1:40 PM

all the money in the world wouldn't bring me back to a small town in indiana. and dan, they might be heading to seattle. you never know. they'd just have to hop on I-90.

Posted by scary tyler moore

on August 30, 2012 at 1:42 PM

Let the conversion therapy commence!

Posted by shotsix on August 30, 2012 at 1:46 PM

And kids, if you're straight, Savage regrets the error of even mentioning you.

The rest of you put down whatever you're doing and keep an eye out for a pair of boys that "look gay".

Posted by Stranger'sWorstNightmare on August 30, 2012 at 1:47 PM

Let's hope niether of these two boys end up being bullied into suicide. Unfortunately my gut tells me different.

Posted by Cato the Younger Younger on August 30, 2012 at 1:47 PM

Looks like they were found in Colorado?

Will be interesting to find out why, exactly, they planned this trip.

Posted by Pick1 on August 30, 2012 at 1:48 PM

seriously though, what a way to come out to the world...if that is what's happening here.

Posted by shotsix on August 30, 2012 at 1:48 PM

Are there emancipation laws in Indiana? Sounds to me like these two kids might need to divorce their families, stat. The line, "want to fight side-by-side for your future," sounds suspiciously like someone is about to get sent off to some Christianist-run gulag in Costa Rica to be "cured" of the Devil.

Posted by Brooklyn Reader on August 30, 2012 at 2:05 PM

I love imagining the thinking that went into bringing contacts but not the spare glasses. "I'll never wear glasses again - onward to a new life!"

Posted by gloomy gus on August 30, 2012 at 2:16 PM

I hope things get better for them, and that they can escape Indiana at some point soon.

Posted by very bad homo on August 30, 2012 at 2:18 PM

Thanks for posting this Dan, as soon as I saw this I got the red flags flying and shouting uh-oh all over the place. Poor kids, they won't ever be able to go back to that school. But good on them for trying to make it better right NOW!

Posted by gr8lakesgrrl on August 30, 2012 at 2:18 PM

Straight or gay, these guys are serious candidates for a lot of "It gets better." videos.

Hang in there boys. Just one or two more years!

Posted by cracked on August 30, 2012 at 2:23 PM

I think it might be good to take down the boys' names and photo. I don't think it's so great to return to SmallTownsVille whilst the entire internet speculates about your sexuality and mental health, either, for all the support that's implied. Maybe that's off-base and the exposure will improve their outlook, I don't know.

Not that Slog alone can get the toothpaste back in that tube, anyhow.

Posted by Orsh on August 30, 2012 at 2:45 PM

Avon is a relatively rich suburb of Indianapolis. There are actual support resources nearby if these young men are allowed to take advantage of them...

Posted by greendyke on August 30, 2012 at 3:24 PM

I was them. They'll stick around until they're eighteen and vamoose. They've tasted sweet freedom and there's no going back!

Posted by Pope Peabrain on August 30, 2012 at 3:51 PM

To echo Greendyke, Avon is just west of Indy. Not a liberal bastion, to be sure, but not as bad as "small-town Indiana" conjures.

Posted by No Witty Name on August 30, 2012 at 4:01 PM

They should have driven to Columbus, Ohio if they are gay. Very LGBT friendly and we have a good half way house for teen runaways. Only 2 or 3 hours away and with 60,000 OSU students they could easily blend in. Next time boys.

Posted by susanb on August 30, 2012 at 4:02 PM

I don't know about suspecting the parents of being about to send them to conversion camp. This article makes them out to be caring and loving:

http://tinyurl.com/9keq947

Of course, it also points out that at least one of them wasn't happy at high school.

Posted by clashfan on August 30, 2012 at 4:57 PM

Long terms runaways are better than suicides, but only because that is a 2 on a scale of 1 to 10 rather than a 1. Maybe it is a 1.5.

Literally everything bad happens to runaways. A kid who has enough to eat, is not being actively molested or physically injured is going to find himself way worse off after a week or two than he could have imagined when he was still at home. No amount of BS at home is as bad as living on the streets.

Posted by Learned Hand on August 30, 2012 at 5:46 PM

@17 I lived in Columbus for four years and never understood why it was considered to be LBGT friendly. Maybe compared to the rest of the Midwest it was, but I would've been pretty uncomfortable if I were gay and out in that city during that time compared to the PNW.

Posted by The CHZA on August 30, 2012 at 6:00 PM

I.can't.even.

Posted by vennominon on August 30, 2012 at 6:05 PM

we need to keep their names and pics up so that when someone sees either of them being dragged into Jeebus-camp they'll help them. Though don't expect the pigs to help since they turned the poor kids right over. Also since no one has mentioned it yet- notice how the news and everybody was all in a huge rush to help find two white blonde runaways when they won't even run a tickerline about all the other runaways of a less than pearly hue.
And on an unrelated note- WTF IS WITH THIS GODDAMN WEATHER REPORT FLOATER!!!

Posted by Skye Blu on August 30, 2012 at 6:39 PM

So dramatic! I am happy they were found safe... I've been THOSE kids. I only hope that this opens their parents' hearts and minds if this flight from reality is based on what I think it must be... I hope things work out.

Posted by bittergaymark on August 30, 2012 at 7:37 PM

If it's any comfort to anyone reading this, Avon is a suburb of Indianapolis and has an annual Pride festival of its own. So hopefully there'll be positive resources available now that the cry for help has made the need for resources evident.

Posted by EclecticEel on August 30, 2012 at 9:51 PM

@22 Jesus camp is not that bad. Jesus camp is responsible for more lost virginities than Prom. Plus, they are generally fun with lots of activities.

The camps to watch out for are the boot camp style camps. Those are big trouble. The problem is that help is very hard to give in that circumstance. The camps are given in loco parentis rights. Really the only help you can give in that case is to get really good, accurate information on what goes on inside the camp, generally from former campers, and give it to the parents. They usually won't actually know the details of the horrors inside and if you can get them the good information, perhaps they will save the kids.

Other than that all you have is media attention or maybe you could get a CPS worker interested. It is a big problem because the parents and the camps have all the rights.

Posted by Learned Hand on August 31, 2012 at 12:12 AM

@19,

I wasn't going to comment, but what you said made me feel like I had to.

My mum ran away from home at 16. She came from a well off background, and parents who tried to get her back. She also absolutely did the right thing. Her mother was violent and escalating, and the press would have had no idea about that, if they'd run her story. (As far as I know, they didn't.)

She planned it for two years. She made connections in the city she ran to, and some amazing friends who raised me with her when I came along.

I'm not championing running away. In 99.9% of cases they end up on the streets, having horrible things done to them. My dad worked for homeless charities. I know the stats. But don't decide that these boys definitely didn't know what they were doing, or that they couldn't maybe have been right.

Posted by Clara on August 31, 2012 at 3:33 AM

One set of parents wrote on facebook, "Praise to the Living God. Thank you for your prayers, thoughts and kind deeds. Bless you. Bless the Lord." So.. whether they are gay or not, it is certainly possible they were running from religion.

Posted by justsomeone on August 31, 2012 at 12:24 PM

Ms/Mr Just - You omit:

[Our boys are SAFE. Our boys are LOVED. Our boys are at the beginning of a new, positive, maybe a little difficult, road to a good future and a good hope. I ask for your continued love and compassion as we stand next to our boys on the better road to recovery.
We LOVE our boys: DAVID, JORDAN. We love you.]

I have heard this language before and only hope this isn't the usual code for we-all-know-what or some other thing of similar magnitude.

But to all those inclined to give the parents the benefit of the doubt, please take it from someone who's been there and stay concerned. Stay very concerned.

Sorry, I can't say more about this.

Posted by vennominon on August 31, 2012 at 7:05 PM

Yeah, all the rah rah jesus blah blah jesus comments on that page sure don't exactly put my mind at ease. I mean, somehow I doubt they ran away simply because it was time for a little adventure... I will be VERY curious as to what happens with these two. Really, I wish them all the best -- and hope that their return home is all it SHOULD be.

Posted by bittergaymark on September 1, 2012 at 2:46 AM