Ottawa, OH – Putnam County authorities have released little information surrounding the discovery of the three missing teenagers who were part of an Amber Alert issued Thursday morning.
Blake Romes, 17, his younger brother Blaine Romes, 14, and 17-year-old Michael Fey (some reports spell it Fay) were reported missing around 5:30 am Thursday after one of the mothers returned to their trailer home where they all lived together, and found what was described as a crime scene. A vehicle was also reported missing from the area.
Ottawa Police were called out to the property and an investigation ensued into the circumstances surrounding the absent boys.
The alert issued described Blake as 6’1? tall, weighing 230 pounds, with sandy blonde hair and blue eyes; Michael as 5’10” tall, 200 pounds, with strawberry blonde hair and blue eyes; and Blaine as 5’9? tall, weighing 140 pounds, with blonde/strawberry hair and blue eyes. They were last seen together around midnight in the 1500 block of North Perry in Ottawa.
Blaine was supposed to have been with his classmates on an eighth-grade class trip to Washington the morning he was reported missing.
That same afternoon, nearly 115 miles away, Michael was discovered at a gas station in Columbus, driving the missing vehicle, reports MSN . A silver 2006 Chevy HHR with Ohio tags was recovered and the young man was taken into custody. The Amber Alert was canceled as the disappearance was not ruled an abduction .
Upon questioning, Michael led investigators to the bodies of both Romes brothers. Blaine and Blake’s remains were not left in the exact same location, but they were retrieved from a ditch not far from the trailer park. Authorities are awaiting the medical examiner’s report on the autopsies, which once completed will officially determine the cause of their deaths.
The surviving teen was arraigned Friday in court on a charge of grand theft auto as a juvenile, to which he pled not guilty, and was jailed. Currently, Michael isn’t facing additional criminal charges regarding the deaths of the Romes brothers – but again authorities are releasing little to no details as they consider them sensitive to the case, which is ongoing.
Neither of the mothers nor Michael has made direct comments to the media. Neighbors at the trailer park said the two mothers lived and worked night shifts together. The two families had been cohabitating in the trailer for less than a year.
Blaine was on the basketball and track teams. Blake was a junior at Ottawa-Glandorf High School, where he was involved in track and choir. The three boys played basketball together in a church league. Grief counselors have been made available to students in the district in hopes of helping them cope with the upsetting loss.
[Image via Shutterstock ]