As authorities continue to search for a missing Mississippi teen said to be with his teacher, the boy’s family is speaking out, trying to make sense of the situation.
As CrimeOnline previously reported, Oscar O’Neal III, 16, disappeared from his Hattiesburg home at some point between late Sunday night and early Monday morning. His mother reported him missing at 1 a.m. Monday, Hattiesburg PD spokesman Ryan Moore confirmed.
Oscar is likely with his former teacher, Nicole Jackson, 30, who he met at the at the Earl Travillion Attendance Center school. Jackson was arrested on April 10 and charged with “sexual battery while in position of trust or authority.”
“He feels like he’s in love and I know he’s not in love,” Oscar’s mother, Lisa O’Neal, told WDAM.
If u see my son please contact me or my wife Lisa Oneal.We got the police involved👮👮his nickname is Lil Pooh but his real name is Oscar Oneal missing….😭😭😭😭
Posted by Oscar Oneal Jr. on Monday, April 30, 2018
“Why would you choose my child? I feel like my child was a target. She robbed him from being a youth and a child,” Oscar’s father, Oscar O’Neal Jr. added. “I believe they are together. He left a letter on the bed saying he was leaving and pretty much moving on with her.”
Lisa O’Neil said that when she found her son missing on Monday morning, she noticed he left numerous pictures on his bed, photos of the teen and his father. The 16-year-old also left a note stating he loved his parents and they had nothing to do with his decision to leave.
“When I opened the door I found it on his bed surrounded with his pictures, he put all these pictures of him and his daddy. He wrote a good letter telling he loved us, we raised him right and it was nothing we did. It was his decision.”
Meanwhile, Jackson’s husband of four years, Isaiah, reported that he last saw his wife around the same time Oscar disappeared. The shocked husband said it was out of character for his wife. The couple share two children together.
“If the allegations are true against my wife, I will support him [O’Neal Jr.] as much as possible.” Isaiah Jackson said.
It’s against the law in Mississippi for any person in a position of power, including teachers, to have a sexual relationship with anyone under the age of 18.
The pair may be traveling in dark blue Chevy Impala with Mississippi license plate number FRA-4454. Anyone with any information on the teen and the teacher’s whereabouts should contact Hattiesburg Police Department at 601-545-4500.
WDAM-TV 7-News, Weather, Sports-Hattiesburg, MS
[Feature Photo: Nicole Jackson and Oscar O’Neal II/Hattiesburg PD]
