LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Hundreds of tips and still no positive ID. The body of a boy found near a trailhead west of the valley remains a mystery. Las Vegas Metropolitan Police detectives are asking for the public’s help.
Days have passed and the identity of this boy remains a mystery. His body found Friday in the area of the Mountain Springs trailhead in the desert, west of the valley. LVMPD says it’s fortunate to be able to have a sketch.
“Luckily we found him in a very short time span from the time we believe he was left up there. That has at least helped us in the investigation,” Lt. Raymond Spencer said.
An investigation that has twists and turns where a mother already misidentified the boy as her own son, resulting in an Amber Alert that was canceled in Utah. Now, detectives are going back to the drawing board and sifting through hundreds of tips.
“A lot of those tips have come all over the United States regarding high-profile missing children from Iowa, Nebraska, and Texas, California and Arizona. We are able to say those profile cases are not the victim of the murder we’re investigating,” Spencer said.
As LVMPD gets those tips, it’s focusing on schoolteachers who may recognize the boy in the picture. Spencer believes it could provide a break in the case.
“You think it could potentially be a student you have taught; we encourage you to call the tip line and we have officers physically going door to door checking on the welfare of all those children,” he said.
Spencer says it’s focusing on tips and leads in Clark and Nye counties for now but could cast a wider net in the future.
“If we’re unable to identify him from someone in Clark and Nye County, then we’ll expand our search. We don’t want to rule out anything at this point,” he said.
Anyone with any information about this incident is urged to contact the LVMPD Homicide Section by phone at 702-828-3521 or by email at homicide@lvmpd.com. They can also call the 24-hour tip line by calling 702-828-3521 or 702-828-2907. To remain anonymous, contact Crime Stoppers by phone at 702-385-5555, or on the internet here.
