Police try to identify young child found dead in woods in Indiana
08 October 2020, Saxony, Dresden: Two police vehicles with flashing blue lights are standing diagonally offset at a deployment site. Photo: Tino Plunert/dpa-Zentralbild/ZB (Photo by Tino Plunert/picture alliance via Getty Images)
SALEM, Ind. - Indiana State Police have established a toll-free national tip line for information in the death of a young boy whose body was found over the weekend in the southern part of the state.
Police say anybody with information on the boy whose body was discovered in Washington County should call 1-888-437-6432.
"That is our No. 1 goal at this point, is to find out the identity and the name of this child," said state police spokesman Sgt. Carey Huls.
A Washington County resident hunting mushrooms found the body around 7:30 p.m. Saturday, police said. The body was located in a heavily wooded area of eastern Washington County.
Police describe the boy as Black, between the ages of 5 and 8 years old with a thin build, a short haircut and about 4 feet (1.2 meters) tall. He is believed to have died sometime within the past week.
"We have reached out to local agencies, not just here in Indiana, but Kentucky, and Ohio as well," Huls said. "At this point, we still don't have a name."
Investigators initially believed the boy was from the area, but because they haven't received any tips or information about a missing child from the area, they now believe he could be from outside the area, Huls said.