Arrest warrant for Texas teen who claimed 'affluenza'

Texas police are looking for a teenager who avoided jail time for a drink-driving crash by claiming he suffered from "affluenza".

An arrest warrant was issued on Wednesday after Ethan Couch failed to report to his probation officer.

In 2013, he drove into a crowd and killed four people in Fort Worth while intoxicated.

His lawyers said his privileged upbringing was partly to blame and argued for a lesser punishment.

Couch, who was 16 at the time of the crash, received 10 years probation.

The judge in the case said treatment for alcohol abuse and probation were better options than imprisonment.

Couch, now 19, is already under investigation after he appeared to be drinking alcohol in a video posted to the internet.

The terms of his probation prohibit Couch from using drugs or alcohol.

"We have recently learned for the last several days the juvenile probation officer has been unable to make contact with Ethan or his mother, with whom he's been residing," Couch's lawyers Regan Wynn and Scott Brown, said in a statement.

A judge has issued "a directive to apprehend", the juvenile-court equivalent of an arrest warrant, the lawyers said.