Jamie Parsons, the adoptive brother of missing teenager Erica Parsons, spoke to reporters for the first time today, saying he reported her missing because it was important to him to speak out.

Erica, 15, has been missing for two years, but it wasn’t known until Jamie reported her missing on July 30. He spoke with Rowan County Sheriff’s investigators and told them he had not seen his adopted sister since November 2011, launching the agency into an extensive investigation into her disappearance.

His parents, Casey and Sandy Parsons, told investigators they let a then 13-year-old Erica go to live with a woman they knew as her biological grandmother, Irene “Nan” Goodman. The couple said they met Goodman at a Mooresville McDonald’s restaurant and left.

Family and investigators have said Irene Goodman does not exist. Casey and Sandy now say they were duped into believing Goodman was Erica’s paternal grandmother.

Shortly after an investigation began, the Rowan County Department of Social Services placed the couple’s two youngest children in the custody of Shirley Stone, Casey’s mother.

The Parsonses reported to a Rowan County civil courtroom this morning for a hearing to determine whether they’ll regain custody of their youngest children.

A judge ordered everyone but the parties involved to leave the court hearing.

When asked why it was important to report his sister missing, Jamie Parsons quietly said, “I need to find Erica.”

A reporter asked Jamie if he would get his wish that his parents would never regain custody of his siblings and his aunt, Tammy Gray, chimed in saying “if there’s a God, I will.”

Gray, who is Casey Parsons’ sister, said she witnessed repeated abuse.

Gray said the best outcome would be “that they never get to see their children again. That’s the only outcome I’m willing to accept.”

Casey and Sandy Parsons, who were sequestered in a conference room prior to the hearing, came out of the courthouse during a break, but did not speak. The hearing resumes this afternoon.