Police: Human remains could be Iowa boy who vanished in May

MONTEZUMA, Iowa (AP) — Investigators searching for an Iowa lad who vanished successful May days earlier his 11th day said Thursday they person recovered quality remains matching his statement successful a adjacent cornfield.

The remains were discovered by a husbandman moving successful a tract a fewer miles extracurricular of Montezuma, wherever 10-year-old Xavior Harrelson was reported missing May 27 from the trailer parkland wherever helium lived.

The husbandman called the Poweshiek County Sheriff’s Office, which responded to the scene, Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation adjunct manager Mitch Mortvedt told KCCI-TV.

State agents, Iowa aesculapian examiner and the authorities anthropologist besides responded and confirmed that they were remains, helium said.

“It appears to beryllium that of an teen and astatine this time, the covering that we spot connected scene, adjacent though it’s evidently soiled and stuff, is accordant with what we knew Xavior to past beryllium wearing,” Mortvedt told the station.

He said authorities were not acceptable to place the assemblage arsenic belonging to Xavior, adding that the authorities aesculapian examiner and anthropologist person “a batch of enactment near up of them successful the days and weeks adjacent to come.”

Authorities said they had relayed the quality to Xavior’s mother.

The boy’s disappearance from Montezuma, a municipality of 1,300 radical that is 70 miles (112.65 kilometers) eastbound of Des Moines, had baffled investigators and saddened residents for months.

It was different stroke to a agrarian country that had been mourning the 2018 abduction and sidesplitting of 20-year-old Mollie Tibbetts, who vanished astir 15 miles (24.14 kilometers) distant successful July 2018 portion retired for a tally successful her hometown of Brooklyn.

In fact, the boy’s disappearance came arsenic prosecutors delivered closing arguments successful the first-degree execution lawsuit against Cristhian Bahena-Rivera, a farmhand who allegedly stabbed Tibbetts to decease and dumped her assemblage successful a adjacent cornfield. Some investigators who had worked the Tibbetts lawsuit for years near the proceedings to hunt for the boy, earlier jurors returned a blameworthy verdict.

After the trial, Bahena-Rivera’s lawyers tried to rise suspicions astir whether the 2 evident kidnappings were connected, but instrumentality enforcement officials person rejected that scenario.

So far, nary suspects of persons of involvement person been named successful Xavior’s disappearance.

A 50-year-old antheral who was a fellow of Xavior’s parent has travel nether scrutiny and been jailed connected a national weapons charge, but authorities person not alleged helium was involved.

County, authorities and national investigators had been examining whether the lad was abducted, ran distant oregon had immoderate benignant of accident, and had searched respective areas successful the portion successful caller months.

Xavior lived with his parent successful the Spruce Village trailer park. He was gone by the greeting of May 27, and a friend’s parent called authorities aboriginal that time to study the lad missing aft speaking with Xavior’s disquieted mother.

On what would person been his 11th day connected May 30, hundreds of volunteers and instrumentality enforcement officials searched the adjacent Diamond Lake County Park and different areas for him.

Xavior had completed his fourth-grade twelvemonth astatine Montezuma Elementary School connected May 21 and was disconnected for summertime break. He was known for riding his motorcycle astir the trailer park.

“Xavior is simply a blessed kid who gets on good with his peers and wants to delight his teachers,” 1 of his teachers, Marie Boulton, said successful June. “He’s ever consenting to assistance you out, prosecute successful a conversation, and offers a grin to everyone helium sees.”