PUERTO VALLARTA, Mexico, Dec. 21 (Gephardt Daily/ UPI) — Multiple news outlets are reporting Mexican authorities have detained so-called “affluenza” teen Ethan Couch and his mother near the beach resort town of Puerto Vallarta.
CNN reported Couch, 18, went missing earlier this month, two years after he made national news when he was sentenced to probation for a drunken driving crash that killed four people.
Couch is expected to be turned over to the U.S. Marshals Service, who have spent weeks searching for him, according to CNN.
On Dec. 21, a missing person report was filed for Tonya Couch, the mother of Ethan Couch.
The Tarrant County District Attorney’s office confirmed Tonya Couch was considered a missing person after the report was filed. A search was launched for Ethan after he missed a check-in with his probation officer.
A $5,000 reward was offered for information leading to his capture.
Attorneys said Couch was supposed to meet with juvenile justice probation officers in early December. Neither he nor his mother could be found after the teen missed the meeting, his attorneys said. The court issued a directive to apprehend, which is the juvenile justice system’s equivalent of an arrest warrant.
Couch is serving 10 years probation in the juvenile justice system for the June 2013 crash that also left nine people injured. His legal defense team said Couch, who was 16 at the time, suffered from what they called “affluenza” because he was spoiled by his wealthy parents and never faced any consequences for his actions, growing up with a sense of entitlement and poor judgement.
Earlier this month, a video appeared on Twitter allegedly showing Couch in a room where the drinking game beer pong was being played, in direct violation of court orders he avoid alcohol and drugs. Prosecutors recently filed a motion to transfer his case to adult court after he turns 19.
Kevin McConnell, the father of Lucas, who was 12 years old when he was injured in the drunk-driving crash, said he is not surprised that Ethan Couch disappeared.
“I don’t think there’s been any accountability for Ethan,” Kevin McConnell told NBC News. “I think he was never taught that actions have consequences other than the easiest way out.”
Amy R. Connolly contributed to this report.
