Mystery Maine Boy Found Dead on Rural Road Puzzles Investigators
Police pore through 100 tips but still no major leads in Maine boy's identity.
May 16, 2011 — -- Despite receiving at least 100 tips, police said they're no closer to identifying the dead boy found under a blanket on a rural road in Maine.
"Somebody has got to miss this child. He's a nephew of somebody, a son or grandson of somebody. ... It's just been very, very frustrating that we haven't gotten any leads, significant leads, in identifying this child," said Maine State Police Lt. Brian McDonough.
On Saturday, the body of a boy between the ages of 4 and 5 was found on Dennett Road in South Berwick, Maine, at around 5 p.m. A passerby who lives in the neighborhood saw the body with a blanket over it, police said. Police won't reveal how decomposed the body was or if the body showed signs of trauma.
"I think this is a suspicious death. There's a lot that we still don't know that we need to learn from people that were familiar with him," said McDonough.
What makes the discovery of the body even more of a mystery is no boy has been reported missing in Maine, New Hampshire or Massachusetts who fits the boy's description, authorities said.
Before the body was found, residents spotted a woman driving a blue pickup truck in the area Saturday morning.
"A blue Toyota Tacoma pickup truck was seen in the area Saturday, and so obviously, we need to check that out," said Stephen McCausland, spokesman for the Maine State Police.
The truck has an extended cab and a full cap over the bed. Police have not been able to track where the truck is licensed. Over the weekend, police took castings of tire impressions and foot impressions on the road.
Today, police are looking at surveillance video, hoping they might catch a glimpse of the child.
McDonough said that he believes the person who dumped the body had to be familiar with the rural, semi-paved road because it is in a remote area.
South Berwick is near the New Hampshire border, and New Hampshire authorities have been helping in the investigation. Members of Team Adam from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children are also involved. Team Adam includes former law enforcement officials and those familiar with missing children cases.
The State Police Computer Crimes Unit produced a computer-generated photo of the unidentified boy. The boy was 3 feet, 8 inches tall and weighed 45 pounds. He had dirty blond hair and blue eyes. His baby teeth had yet to fall out.
The fully clothed boy was wearing a gray colored camouflage hooded sweatshirt, khaki pants, a navy blue T-shirt with "Aviator Series" displayed on the front and "Lightning McQueen" black sneakers, police said.
Police thought that they had a near break in the case earlier today when a law enforcement tip led them to search for a boy of a similar build and description as the unidentified boy. A check revealed that the boy was safely at home.
"Progress is coming in, leads, and information is coming in, and as long as that continues we have something to follow up on and work to do," McDonough said.
Anyone with information about the boy's identity or the Toyota Tacoma pickup truck spotted in the area should call Maine State Police at 207-657-3030.
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