KEYMAR, Md. (WBFF) — A 16-year-old foster child placed at Silver Oak Academy has been missing for more than nine days, according to sources familiar with the case and public records obtained by Spotlight on Maryland, deepening scrutiny of a privately operated juvenile facility already facing calls for closure from local law enforcement, lawmakers, former staff and residents.
Carroll County Sheriff Jim DeWees said the latest disappearance is not an isolated incident, but part of what he described as a growing pattern of instability and danger at the rural campus, which has generated more than 100 emergency calls since January 2025. Those calls have included reports of violent “riots,” and runaway juveniles and repeated law enforcement responses since Maryland resumed placing youth in state care at the facility in September 2024.
“I guess the real question is what isn’t going on at Silver Oak Academy?” DeWees said. “We have been there so many times over the last year.”…