Indiana teen Scottie Morris found ‘safe’ just minutes away from where he vanished 8 days earlier

The Indiana teenager who was missing for more than a week after his parents forced him to wear a T-shirt with “I’m a liar” written on it has been found safe just minutes away from his home, police announced Friday.

Scottie Dean Morris, 14, of Eaton, was found by a Eaton Police officer around 10:30 p.m. Friday near Hartford Street and Harris Street after police had suspended the search for the missing teen on Tuesday, cops said.

He had last been seen around 8:30 p.m. on March 16 in a part of central Eaton that is about a five-minute walk where he was found.

Police said Saturday after Morris was found he was taken to the emergency room at Health Ball Memorial Hospital for a medical evaluation. 

He was then “placed in a safe environment” with the help of the Delaware County Child Protective Services, police said, with investigative interviews scheduled later in the day.

In an update posted on Saturday night, Eaton police said two unnamed individuals were brought in for questioning but “have since been cleared of any involvement with any part in this case.”

“The family is continuing to cooperate with every aspect of the investigation,” the department said.

When Morris first was reported missing, police shared a full-length photo of defeated-looking Morris while wearing a white T-shirt with the hand-written black ink messages, which included “I hurt my lil brother”  and “cheat” with a drawing of a crying face on Morris’s right shoulder.

The white shirt is believed to be the same t-shirt he was wearing along with just a pair of shorts when he went missing.

Police later revealed that his parents, Felicia and Brian Morris, forced him to wear the shirt, but said the parents are not suspects and passed polygraph tests about their son’s disappearance. 

Social media users speculated that the strange shirt coupled with Morris’ buzzed haircut could potentially indicate abuse at home, which Eaton Police Chief Jay Turner said there was no reason to believe.

Authorities previously said the Morris was in “extreme danger” and “may require medical assistance.” 

Over the course of the massive search,  Turner said his department and volunteers had searched “the entire town at least four times” with no luck, even with the help of horses and helicopters.