Texas Authorities are asking the public to share this sketch of a young child whose body was found last Friday in a case that police are calling “extremely unusual.”
Galveston police say they found the body of a 3-to-5-year-old boy in the sand close to the surf around 5:30 p.m. Friday, according to a press release.
The Galveston Police Department, along with the U.S. Coast Guard, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection and Child Protective Services, have found no matches in their databases for any reported missing children matching the child’s description as of Sunday evening, police have confirmed in the press release.
“We don’t have bodies wash up on our beaches without a story behind them,” Capt. Joshua Schirard said in a press conference Sunday. “That doesn’t happen here. That’s why we’re working so hard on this case and figure out how and why this happened.”
Police have now ruled the case a homicide until they can “unequivocally prove otherwise” and are waiting for autopsy results to determine his cause of death, Galveston Police said in a press release.
“The circumstances surrounding this death grow more and more suspicious as time goes on,” police said in a press release Sunday.
Schirard said that the 30-pound body was found naked with no major signs of trauma.
He said that it isn’t unusual for authorities to find drowning victims naked as the tidal pull on Galveston beaches is strong enough to pull clothes off.
What makes this case unusual, Schirard said in a press conference, is that after a three-day search with multiple agencies, police haven’t come across anyone who recognizes or appears to be missing the young child.
“Someone, somewhere knows this child and can help us identify him,” Schirard said.
The body was found about 20 to 30 feet from the tidal line, police said and they can’t confirm whether or not it was placed there or washed up in the tide. The Galveston Police Department released a detailed forensic sketch of the boy’s face Sunday on Facebook and the post has been shared over 21,000 times. People on Facebook are saying the case is “horrifying” and “heartbreaking.”
“It’s unbelievable that no one is missing him,” one person wrote.
The Statement from Police reads:
Please help us identify this deceased child found on the beach in Galveston Friday evening by calling 409-765-3776. We will update this post with the official press release from the Department within the hour.In the meantime, please share this image so that we can continue to work diligently to solve this case.
PRESS RELEASE: Police Seeking Help Identifying Child Found Dead On Beach
After receiving a 911 call on Friday evening, October 20th, the Galveston Police Department located the body of a male child on the sand adjacent to the surf in the 700 block of Seawall Blvd.
That night, no other related individuals were located, and no one came forward to report a missing child.
The Galveston Police Department, along with surrounding local and federal agencies, searched their databases for any reported missing persons that would match this description but found none. In an effort to identify this child, the Galveston Police Department contacted one of the most experienced and best forensic artists in the nation, Lois Gibson, and she was able to render a sketch of this child for us.
The child is described as approximately 3’ tall with a slender build, black hair, and brown eyes.
This is an extremely unusual case for Galveston Island, and the circumstances surrounding this death grow more and more suspicious as time goes on.
We are still waiting on the official Medical Examiner’s report from the autopsy; however, we will continue to treat this death as a homicide until we can unequivocally prove otherwise.
We are asking everyone to please take a look at this child and see if you recognize him. This picture is now available on the City of Galveston Website and the Galveston Police Department’s social media outlets; please share it.
Someone, somewhere knows this child and can help us identify him. If anyone has any information concerning this case, or the identity of this child please call 409-765-3776 or Crimestoppers at 409-763-TIPS
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