The Tribune

By LYNAIRE MUNNINGS

Tribune Staff Reporter

lmunnings@tribunemedia.net

A SEARCH continues for 15-year-old Teniel Legister, allegedly abducted nearly two weeks ago by someone known to her in a brazen daylight incident that has left her foster family devastated.

Teniel, a 9th-grade student at TA Thompson Junior High, vanished around 8am on May 8 while heading to school. She was last seen at a bus stop near a gas station on the western side of Carmichael Road.

Her foster mother, Sasha Ferguson, said the teenager never arrived at school. Witnesses later claimed to have seen her in visible distress at the Carmichael Road Police Station, struggling to get away from a woman known to her.

“She did abduct her,” Ms Ferguson said, “and was seen with her shortly thereafter at the Carmichael Road police station where they said that Teniel was carrying on trying to fight her off, but the woman passed it off as her just being unruly.”

“And it’s completely out of character for Teniel to be disrespectful or to become so angered. She’s very slow to anger. So from what I know of her, she must have been terrified, because she’s very well headed when it comes to dealing with heavy situations.”

Ms Ferguson said the woman has no legal custody or visitation rights and has failed to meet the conditions set by Child Protection Services. She added that Teniel had long expressed fears of being taken.

“She is always looking over her shoulders thinking that she would be snatched, and that if she is snatched, if we could do everything we can to save her, because she doesn’t want to be tortured or sacrificed or killed so that really did have us a bit on edge,” she said.

Ms Ferguson has cared for Teniel for the past 18 months, raising her younger sister for eight years as well. Both girls were removed from their biological home due to severe abuse and instability.

Ms Ferguson said that before entering her care, Teniel had been struggling severely in school, overwhelmed by anxiety from her unstable home life, and in poor mental and emotional health. She was also suffering from malnutrition.

She said Teniel had flourished emotionally and academically in her care, describing her as resilient and easy-going.

The alleged abduction isn’t the first. According to Ms Ferguson, the same person tried a similar incident in January 2024, trying to lure Teniel off campus with $100. When that failed, she reportedly grabbed the teen, prompting student intervention and police involvement.

Ms Ferguson said the emotional toll on the family has been profound.

Ms Ferguson said her household has tried to remain composed, focusing on what they can control and trusting others, including authorities and God, to handle the rest. She admitted they were deeply anxious from the beginning, especially given the individual’s past behaviour and the troubling circumstances that led to Teniel and her sister being removed from their biological home. Their greatest fear has always been that Teniel would be in serious danger if taken back.

“Yesterday was my birthday,” she added. “We couldn’t bring ourselves to celebrate because Teniel was absent, and she’s a very important part of our household.”

Feeling powerless has been the hardest part, Ms Ferguson said, knowing Teniel expected them to protect her while they must rely on others.

Ms Ferguson said if she could, she would send Teniel this message: “I’m very proud of her and I need her to remember everything that she’s been taught to be strong and everything that she’s been taught to protect her mind and to protect her heart, and to always remember that If she prays, God can do anything for her, and that she is deeply loved and valued, and that it would never be easy for us to stop looking for her so we are not okay.”

Police have issued a wanted flyer for Teniel’s biological mother.