555-Pound Teen, Mother Located In Md.

Pair Had Run From S.C. Authorities After Mother Was Accused Of Neglecting Son's Health

(AP)  A 555-pound teen who disappeared with his mother after she was accused of neglecting his health was found with her Thursday afternoon at a laundry in Maryland, authorities said.

Paramedics checked Alexander Draper, 14, before turning him over to the Maryland Department of Human Resources, police said. The two were found in Woodlawn area of Baltimore County, police said.

His mother, 49-year-old Jerri Gray, was arrested on a charge of violating a custody order, police said. South Carolina officials plan to pursue her extradition back to the state.

Authorities said the teen was at a "stage of critical health risk," but wouldn't provide details about his medical condition beyond his weight, said Greenville County Sheriff's Lt. Shea Smith.

Officials are making arrangements to bring the boy back to South Carolina, Smith said.

Investigators didn't know if Gray had an attorney and her relatives have not responded to messages left by The Associated Press.

The South Carolina Department of Social Services contacted deputies Tuesday after Gray failed to make a scheduled court appearance so officials could begin investigating claims of child neglect and endangerment.

Left: Alex Draper, 14, of Travelers Rest, S.C. is seen in an undated family photo provided by the Greenville County Sheriff's office. The 555-pound teen and his mother were located in Maryland after running from S.C. authorities. A judge had ordered Draper be taken into protective custody because of medical neglect and his mother's failure to appear in court.

The agency doesn't get involved in such cases based on a child's weight alone, but will take action in "cases where health care professionals believe a child is at risk of harm because a parent is neglecting to provide necessary medical care," DSS spokeswoman Marilyn Matheus said in a statement.

A judge ordered the teen taken into protective custody.

Gray and Draper had been last seen Monday at their home in Travelers Rest, north of Greenville.

Investigators said they are trying to determine why they were in Maryland.

[hamiltongrad]

This poor boy and mother need understanding and help. He and she need complete care and a decent place to live with nutritionists 24/7 and exercise machines.

[Ichabod09]

If you two backyard chemists put all your chemical knowledge in a thimble ? There wouldn't be enough charge to blow the ignorance from your head. Btw Longterm use of the drug creates a autism effect to have repeat yourself over and over . Your posts speak for themselves.
Posted by Dgunner at 5:49 AM : May 23, 2009

As your post speaks for itself. Well if an NIH grant for cancer research counts as a backyard chemist I guess your right.

[Dgunner]

If you two backyard chemists put all your chemical knowledge in a thimble ? There wouldn't be enough charge to blow the ignorance from your head. Btw Longterm use of the drug creates a autism effect to have repeat yourself over and over . Your posts speak for themselves.

[Ichabod09]

Nice advertisement for illegal drugs. Hope no kids see this you morons!! And I hope CBS banned your dumb butts.
Posted by stuart2561 at 3:13 AM : May 23, 2009

Stuart, this is pretty basic stuff that can be found with a search engine called Google. Google is great for looking up stuff-give it a try as it will keep you from looking like the one that is a moron.

[Ichabod09]

l-methamphetamine, in the absence of the d-form, is a nasal decongestant and is a component of legal, over-the counter products such as a Vick`s inhaler.
Posted by juwboy at 1:37 AM : May 23, 2009
____________________________________________________________________

Basic organic chemistry in which you have a racemic mixture of optically active isomers. You know the chemistry but I've got a hunch most don't. Tnx for letting me know there is another chemist in the house.

[juwboy]

Ichabod09:

Synthesizing methamphetamine from methylformamide and phenylpropanone produces a racemic mixture of d- and l- methamphetamine.

d-methamphetamine is the illegal stimulant drug that gives you a buzz.

l-methamphetamine, in the absence of the d-form, is a nasal decongestant and is a component of legal, over-the counter products such as a Vick`s inhaler.

[gosstom]

Obviously the Gvt. people who couldn't find the 555 lb. boy for 2 days are the same dorks who haven't been able to find Ben Laudin for the past 8 years. These idiots would be laughable if the subject wasn't so pathetic. It seems like you have to take a Stupid Test to get into gvt. anymore.

[gravyboat45]

How can you not find a 555 lb 14 year old kid in two days?

And why in the hell can't his mom look like Hale Berry?

Billy Bob just snickered, then he clutched the vile of Angelina's blood he has around his neck.

I just grossed myself out.

[Ichabod09]

For the record, when it comes to real cooking, Betty Crocker is a wimp!

[Ichabod09]

Further just for the record Ampetamines are made mostly with the ingredients of contact cold capules but I would not tell any one contact is a class A drug
Posted by Freeguy33 at 1:19 AM : May 22, 2009

The clandestine method of making amphetamines utilizes sudafed. However, if you can get hold of phenyl-2-propanone and formamide for straight amphetamine or methylformamide for methamphetamine your talking about a more straight forward method.

[Ichabod09]

However, molecules of methamphetamine are not the same as molecules of pseudoephedrine, so there is absolutely no reason whatsoever to assign Class A status to Sudafed.
________________________________________________________________________
Not exactly the same thing, no. However, remove the hydroxy- group from pseudoephedrine and we are talking major buzz..

[ElectricBlue44]

I wonder if cops handcuffed this kid when they caught up with him. That would have been a whale of a task.

brianbwb-2009 Coca Cola was made with the cocoa leave not cocaine. Duh
Posted by Freeguy33 at 1:18 AM : May 22, 2009

WRONG. Try again. On second thought, don't bother.

Coca leaves are where cocaine comes from. That's what was in Coca Cola.
Cocoa comes from the cacao plant.

I have traveled around the world for the past thirty plus years, and I have noticed that while I used to stand head and shoulders above the indigenous populations of countries like Indonesia, now the children of these people look me straight in the eye, some of them even down into mine, that would be a gain of 6 to 9 inches in just one generation. There is no way this is not at least chemically assisted, the only difference in their diets is the substitution of imported meats from New Zealand, Australia, Europe, and the US.

Posted by brianbwb-2009 at 9:08 AM : May 22, 2009

You must be pretty unobservant, if you've traveled so much and think that the only difference in their diets is the substitution of imported meats.

[marshmy]

It never ceases to amaze me how many "wanna be" comedians post to a story like this.
Or....are you so unhappy with yourselves that you feel the need to be hurtful to others?

I would challenge you to search the web for the simple BMI and Hip Waist ratio tests, plug your honest....repeat honest....numbers in and then come back and tell the rest of us how you did.

[brianbwb-2009]

"...The chemicals in the food is just an excuse. Guess what happens when you stop eating? your body burns fat located on your body for energy! So, the secret to losing weight??? EAT LESS AND TAKE A WALK NOW AND THEN!" Posted by ccdsswrkr09

Milk? Do you think that a cow, given BGH (bovine growth hormone) so that she will mature faster, (as most in America are) and produce more milk, doesn't produce milk with the hormone in it? Or that there is none in that tenderloin steak? Or your steamed chicken, which btw comes from some of the same farms that raise poultry for KFC, and Mc D?

Take a walk? I don't know what country you live in, but even in America, for certain groups of people, walking is the major form of transportation.

The eggs you refer to come from these same chickens, do you think that they are also not laced with traces of the chemicals (FSH, or follicle stimulating hormones) used to mature and make them lay more eggs?

Ever stop to think that most adults are to varying degrees lactose intolerant, and find drinking milk to lead to unpleasant disturbances later?

I have traveled around the world for the past thirty plus years, and I have noticed that while I used to stand head and shoulders above the indigenous populations of countries like Indonesia, now the children of these people look me straight in the eye, some of them even down into mine, that would be a gain of 6 to 9 inches in just one generation. There is no way this is not at least chemically assisted, the only difference in their diets is the substitution of imported meats from New Zealand, Australia, Europe, and the US.

You can bemoan your brethren all you want about their habits, it says more about your propensity to be supercilious, than it does about your ability to discern multiple causes for certain conditions.

[aka_KJB]

It's entirely possible that this kid has some kind of genetic disposition towards being overweight but I'd think somebody would have thought about trying to do something once the kid hit 250 or so. I'd have thought they'd be easy to spot on the highway - the car had to be sitting low enough to be scraping the pavement. Just follow the stream of sparks.

[Hermit1948]

Disgusting. 555 pound teen? That's child abuse.

[ElectricBlue44]

Roll out the barrel. We'll have a barrel of fun.

[hawksprings]

"How difficult is it to spot a 500+ lb teen, even if you put a disguise on him....."
Posted by rrozsa

Maybe she made him wear an Obama mask.