Teen’s Skull Was Fractured in Locker Room and Parents Think There’s More to the Story. He Can’t Remember What Happened

More than two weeks after a frightening incident at school left 15-year-old August Borden fighting for his life, his parents are still desperate for answers.

“We want to know what happened,” says his mom, Kristen Van Devender, a 47-year-old photographer. “No one’s come to us and admitted anything.”

The morning of August 19 started like any other. Kristen dropped her freshman son off for football practice at Deshler High School around 6:30 a.m. Hours later, just before heading to pick him up at 4 p.m., she updated her Facebook profile picture to his new team photo. That’s when another football mom texted to ask if she was already on the way.

It was about 3:45 p.m., and since Kristen only lived 10 minutes from the school, she said no. The other mom quickly replied: “You need to come get him.”

Kristen rushed to the school and found chaos — a police officer, firetrucks, and an ambulance. Inside was August, screaming in pain. “It was chaos,” she recalls. “A living nightmare.”

No one from the school called Kristen, but her husband Drew, August’s stepfather, was contacted and told to get there immediately. He says he was told August “had a fall” after “some roughhousing and a fellow student picked him up in a bear hug and dropped him.”

The school district has said little, citing an ongoing investigation.

There wasn’t space in the helicopter for Kristen and Drew to fly with August to Birmingham, so they drove as fast as they could to Children’s of Alabama. August’s father, who did not respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment, met them at the hospital.

At the emergency room, Kristen says a police officer led her to an empty room and told her, “The social worker and the chaplain will be right with you.”

Her heart sank. “My first thought was that he passed away,” she says. “I was in complete, soulless panic of, ‘I’ve lost my child.’”

Thankfully, August survived, but his injuries were severe: a serious concussion, fractures beneath both eyes, and a skull fracture behind his sinus cavity.

Despite being told it was a fall, the family says doctors told them his injuries did not match that explanation. They believe he was struck.

His parents stayed at his bedside for 60 hours while he lay unresponsive in the ICU, intubated, with swollen eyes and cuts on his hands. Two days later, he was released from the hospital.

When the family asked for a police report, they were told none existed. Tuscumbia Police Chief Tony Logan — who previously said they hadn’t interviewed August yet — did not respond to PEOPLE’s requests for comment.

Authorities have since handed the case over to the Franklin County Juvenile Probation Office, with help from the Madison County District Attorney’s Office. “We were appointed to go in and look at the matter, and that’s presently what we’re doing,” DA Robert Broussard told PEOPLE. He explained that the local DA recused himself due to possible connections, which is “not uncommon” in smaller districts.

Broussard added that investigators are focused only on witnesses and evidence, dismissing speculation on social media.

As of Thursday, Sept. 4, the investigation remains open.

At home, August has no memory of what happened. His parents say he only recalls a separate incident with another football player earlier that day.

Robert Bissell, director of federal programs for Tuscumbia City Schools, said there isn’t much they can share while the investigation continues. He released a statement from the superintendent saying the incident occurred while players walked from the weight room to the locker room, and that employees called 911 immediately and coaches began CPR.

The superintendent also noted there were no security cameras in that location. No students have been disciplined, and officials say they won’t act until all the facts are clear.

Meanwhile, August is recovering at home with his family and their two dogs, Pico and Lulu. He suffers from headaches, blurred vision, and sleeps most of the day. He cannot be left alone.

Three days after his injury, Deshler’s football team played a game. The family says there was “no mention of August” — no kneel down, no silence, just business as usual.

That night, Drew posted photos of August in the hospital, pleading for anyone with information to come forward. The post went viral, spreading across the country.

“We feel people will come forward,” Drew says. “We’re getting inundated with love and emails of support. From Seattle to Austin to Nashville to Minnesota — people everywhere are saying, ‘This could be my kid.’”