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Murdered teen's mother never reported him missing

By Jamel Major - bio | email | Twitter | Facebook

Updated by Jason Miles - bio | email | Twitter | Facebook

MEMPHIS, TN (WMC-TV) - The father of a 15-year-old boy found murdered in Georgian Hills Park Wednesday night said he's not surprised it took authorities so long to identify his son.

After 12 hours of investigating, Memphis police Thursday finally identified the teen as Alex "Tre" Bolar.

Alex Bolar, Sr., said he was not surprised it took police so long to identify his son. Action News 5 spoke with him as he was driving back to Memphis from Nashville, where he works during the week.

Bolar said his ex-wife never reported their son missing.

"That's just her behavior. He pretty much raised himself," he said.

Memphis police say the teen's mother may have learned of her son's death only after detectives canvassed the neighborhood near the park in hopes of discovering his identity.

"These are the frustrating things," said MPD Director Larry Godwin. "Nearly 24 hours and you don't even know if you're missing your child - very disturbing."

Bolar also addressed concerns that his son was a member of a gang, saying he recently confronted the boy after he discovered a gang initiation letter.

"He said he wasn't in a gang because the letter looked like someone in the fifth grade had wrote it. The spelling, the punctuation, everything was out of line," Bolar said.

The father of the 15-year-old Trezevant High School student said he had been fighting for sole custody.

Police are still searching for the shooter in this case. Memphis Police Director Larry Godwin called on Memphians to act.

"I'd love to see the community step up and say, 'we've had enough of this,' " he said. "I'd love for the community to come together and continue to work with the MPD."

Joe Hunter is a former gang member and director of Gang Inc., a mentoring program aimed at combating gangs, sex, and drugs. He had a message for whoever is responsible.

"If you think you're going to get away with this, that's just not going to happen. The community is not going to allow it. God's not going to allow it," he said.

Anyone with information that could lead to an arrest is asked to call CrimeStoppers at (901) 528-CASH.

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