For many parents, finding a reasonable balance of tech use for their tweens and teens is a constant challenge. They want to be mindful of what children actually need, like when it’s for schoolwork. But then, there are so often stories of what happens when things go wrong. Extremes always exist, however, to how parents handle tech and their teens. Dad Mark Alexander Rogers is one example of this, and he is facing possible child endangerment charges for putting his teen on a “tech detox” in a remote Brazilian forest.
The dad and his 13-year-old son, who are both American, have been living in Brazil for the last six years, the Daily Mail reported, citing Brazilian news reports. The duo, who reportedly have no other relatives in Brazil, were reported missing August 28, 2025, in the area of Balneário Camboriú, located in southern Brazil. The report was made after the boy missed a few days of school.
Local officials put out missing person posters in the hopes of finding the two. According to friends of Rogers, he had been acting strangely, including talking about conspiracy theories, before they went missing, per local reports. Rogers and his son do not have any other family in Brazil.
During a search, their cellphones were found at a construction site, officials said. Hours later, Rogers’ car, a Jeep with US license plates, was found. A search of their home days after their disappearance revealed that they had cats, who had no food.
The father and son were found by teams from Brazil’s Military Fire Department on September 2, 2025, CNN reported, per WSFB. According to authorities, they were camping in a remote part of the Brazilian forest.
Authorities claimed the trip was part of a cellphone and TV detox. Police are still investigating the disappearance, but additional details have not been released. Rogers could be charged with child endangerment.
