COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Columbus firefighters have been working to solve a rash of arsons on the city's south side. Several suspects are in custody, but a teenage suspect's escape from a juvenile facility has investigators stumped and asking why they weren't notified.
Investigators said 12-year-old Ryan Parsley has a history of evading authorities.
Franklin County Children Services got temporary custody of Parsley in November 2008, but didn't get their hands on him until after police picked him up on two arson charges on Feb. 21.
Now, authorities are looking for him again after an escape, NBC 4's Candice Lee reported.
Facing arson charges, a juvenile judge ordered 12-year-old Ryan Parsley to a facility on Pierce Drive on March 9.
But on March 21, with help of another resident, he scaled a fence and escaped.
But despite the escape, no one notified arson investigators with the Columbus Division of Fire.
"They don't release that information to us. They won't release that information because they are minors. So, for us to call to see if someone is still there, they are not releasing that information to us," said Battalion Chief David Whiting, public information officer for the Columbus Division of Fire.
NBC 4 contacted Franklin County Children Services to ask why they did not notify investigators of the escape.
Spokeswoman Doris Callaway Moore explained that a missing person's report was filed with the Columbus Division of Police on March 21.
Detective Brian Lamarre with the missing person's unit said the report was filed, but that they were not obligated to notify the fire department that Parsley was out of custody.
Parsley faces arson charges in connection with two south side fires -- one on Barthman Avenue on Jan. 11 and another on Innis Avenue on Jan. 22.
Now that he's back on the streets, neighbors in the south-side neighborhood said they have seen Parsley roaming the area, but none has called police.
Whiting said most area residents are afraid of retaliation if they turn in Parsley.
"Our greatest fear is occupied structures -- you get a fire in the middle of the night and we have to be concerned about people being trapped and burned in fires," Whiting said.
Parsley's father, William Parsley is in jail on two counts of aggravated arson and investigators said they believe Ryan Parsley is with his older brother.
Anyone with information about the location of Ryan Parsley is asked to call Columbus police.
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