Federal authorities have joined the hunt for Texas teen Ethan Couch, who has gone missing two years after getting probation for killing four people in a drunken driving crash.

A warrant for his arrest was issued on Wednesday after he failed to report to his probation officer. US marshals and the FBI are also searching for Couch’s mother, Tonya.

Couch came to national attention two years ago, when his legal defense team argued that he ought not to be held responsible for the four deaths because he suffered from “affluenza”.

A psychologist called by the defense testified that Couch’s behavioral problems were influenced by a troubled upbringing in a rich family, where privilege prevented him from understanding the full consequences of his actions.

Couch, just 16 at the time of the incident, was given a sentence of rehab and 10 years probation, despite prosecutors’ recommendation of 20 years in prison.,

Affluenza is not an officially recognized diagnosis.

Couch and his mother are believed to have disappeared earlier this month after a six-second video appeared on Twitter alleging that Couch had violated the terms of his probation, which include a prohibition on driving, drinking alcohol and using drugs for 10 years. In the video, he is seen attending a party where alcohol is being served. A probation officer lost touch with Couch last week.

“We have recently learned that for the last several days, the juvenile probation officer has been unable to make contact with Ethan or his mother with whom he has been residing,” Couch’s lawyers Scott Brown and Wm Reagan Wynn said in a statement to TV station HLN. “We are aware that the probation authorities and/or the district attorney’s office are conducting an investigation to determine if Ethan has violated any of the terms and conditions of his probation.”



They declined to comment further citing the ongoing investigation.

“I was not surprised. I predicted two years ago that something bad was going to happen of this. It didn’t shock me at all. I wasn’t surprised at all that he ran,” Dee Anderson, sheriff of Tarrant County in Texas, told CNN on Thursday.

Anderson said it is not out of realm of possibilities that Couch and his mother have made it out of the county, given that they have access to money and have the “ability to disappear”.

“I wouldn’t be surprised. They had a good start,” he said. “I don’t believe they are the kind of people that would have run a short distance. I believe they planned this.”

Anderson also had a message for Couch and his mother: “We’re going to find you, wherever you are.”

Couch, from Keller, near Fort Worth, admitted to four counts of intoxication manslaughter. He was speeding when he lost control of his pickup truck, swerved off a suburban road and ploughed at up to 70mph into a group of people who were helping Breanna Mitchell, whose car had broken down.

Mitchell, a youth pastor named Brian Jennings, Hollie Boyles, and her daughter, Shelby, were killed.



Couch had seven passengers. Two were riding in the bed of the truck and were seriously injured. One is paralysed and unable to speak. The other suffered broken bones and internal injuries.

Mothers Against Drunk Driving called for Couch to be held responsible for the 2013 incident.

“Four people were hit and killed, and no one was held responsible,” Colleen Sheehey-Church, Mothers Against Drunk Driving’s national president, said in a statement.

“This is egregious. ‘Affluenza’ aside, Ethan Couch appears to show blatant disregard for the law, and he must be held accountable. The families impacted will never have their loved ones back; Ethan Couch must have consequences for his actions.”