A statewide Endangered Child Alert was issued Wednesday in Tennessee for five missing siblings believed to be with their non-custodial parents, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation wrote on X, formerly Twitter .

All five boys are from Athens, Tennessee. They are Kaidren Heath, 11 years old; Karson Pendergrass, 5; Andrew Pendergrass, 4; Lucas Pendergrass, 4; and Malachi Pendergrass, 2.

The children were last seen in a white GMC Acadia with Tennessee tag 521 BMMM, the agency said, and are believed to have been missing since Oct. 21.

News week has contacted the Athens Police Department and the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation for comment via email.

Kaidren is described as 5 feet tall, 70 pounds, with brown hair and hazel eyes.

Karson is four feet five inches tall, weighs 50 pounds and has blonde hair and blue eyes.

Andrew and Lucas are 4 feet tall, weigh 40 pounds, and have brown hair and brown eyes.

Malachi is 3 feet tall, weighs 30 pounds, and has blonde hair and blue eyes.

The missing child alert was issued just before 4 a.m., ABC 33/40 reported.

According to an Athens police press release obtained by News weekThe police department responded to a report of five missing children from the Athens Department of Child Services (DCS) on October 22.

According to the media alert, “the DCS agent on scene stated that the mother and father of the five children were informed that the five children would be released to state custody pursuant to a court order. (The) father then asked the children and his wife to get up and run out of the office. DCS case officers were able to obtain a description of the vehicle for law enforcement.

The children were to be placed in state custody due to an “active court order and the father’s failure to comply with the court order,” the media alert continued, adding: “On instruction from the 10th District Attorney’s Office, felony arrest warrants have been issued for the father, the father is Kurtis Pendergrass, 30, of Athens.

The suspect then allegedly left the DCS office in the white GMC Acadia. “According to sources, the mother, father and children are in the Georgia area,” the media alert states.

The Athens Police Department said it was working alongside law enforcement in Georgia; with federal, state and local partners; and with Flock Safety.

Anyone with information on the whereabouts of the children is encouraged to contact the Athens Police Department at 423-745-3222 or the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation at 1-800-TBI-FIND.

Tennessee has different types of alerts it issues when people, children and adults, go missing, including Amber Alert, Silver Alert, Endangered Child Alert, Endangered Young Adult Alert of disappearance (Holly Bobo Law) and the list of missing children.

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation’s website says missing child alerts are issued “for missing child cases in which the safety of the child is a concern.”

The site also states that “by issuing a child in danger alert, the TBI notifies local media – in specific areas of the state – of the missing child, as well as any additional information that is available. The TBI also uses social media to further share relevant information. “.

On the website, 14 children, including the five boys, are listed with active missing child alerts, the oldest dating back to 2011.

According to Child Find of America, 78 percent of abductors were noncustodial parents, and 35 percent of abducted children were between the ages of 6 and 11.

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