The way he was dressed insinuates that he died in the winter months (November 1998 - January 1999, or 1-3 months before being discovered). Maybe there was a preschooler or elementary student that someone remembers going home for Thanksgiving or Christmas break and never coming back? After his disappearance was noted by teachers, someone could have given an excuse that they were planning on putting him in a different school or homeschooling him after classes resumed, which could quell suspicion to some extent.
Also, the medicine in his system, the lack of obvious trauma, and the fact this child seemed oddly well taken care of (compared to other young children who are found dead under suspicious circumstances and go unidentified for decades) make me wonder if perhaps this was a sickly child who died of natural causes? If this was the case, though, and foul play was not directly involved, why was the death not reported?
I also remember hearing that a hysterical woman contacted authorities about this case, saying that the victim's name was Cabell Brown before hanging up. The call was traced back to somewhere in (Central?) Florida.
EDIT AGAIN: Found the article:
Defunct link from a 17-year-old post on this website: DEKALB COUNTY (ATLANTA) UNIDENTIFIED JOHN DOE
Edit again: The Fall Line mentioned the Christmas break theory almost exactly as I mentioned it, which was freaky to hear.
Also, the medicine in his system, the lack of obvious trauma, and the fact this child seemed oddly well taken care of (compared to other young children who are found dead under suspicious circumstances and go unidentified for decades) make me wonder if perhaps this was a sickly child who died of natural causes? If this was the case, though, and foul play was not directly involved, why was the death not reported?
I also remember hearing that a hysterical woman contacted authorities about this case, saying that the victim's name was Cabell Brown before hanging up. The call was traced back to somewhere in (Central?) Florida.
EDIT AGAIN: Found the article:
Oct 10, 9:24 PM
Group investigates Melbourne tip concerning Atlanta child's body
By Jennifer Ellis
FLORIDA TODAY
MELBOURNE. -- Three retired police officers, volunteering with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, arrived in Brevard County on Wednesday to investigate the 1999 death of a child near Atlanta.
The investigators are focusing their efforts on Brevard County because their only lead came from Melbourne, volunteer investigator Andrew Gnoza said.
The case involves the unsolved death of boy whose remains were found Feb. 26, 1999 in a shallow grave near a cemetery in DeKalb County, Ga. According to the medical examiner, the remains were those of a black male 5 to 8 years old.
According to DeKalb County police, the boy was wearing children's size 11 Timberland hiking boots. The child also was wearing a hooded blue plaid pullover and red denim jeans. Detectives say the child also had wide gaps between his bottom front teeth.
"He wasn't just dumped," Gnoza said. "The person who left him, left him with some dignity."
Although the cause of the boy's death could not be determined, it is believed the child died several months before his body was discovered, Heller said.
DeKalb County police Sgt. Steve Hall refused to release information on the years-old case when contacted by Florida Today.
"We knew they were going to Florida," he said. "This case could fill volumes."
Shortly after the gruesome discovery, an unidentified woman called DeKalb County investigators from a pay phone on University Boulevard in Melbourne and identified the child as Cabell Brown.
"She was crying when she talked to (DeKalb) police," Gnoza said. "The caller said the child had been abused, and then she got cut off accidentally, and police never were able to get a hold of her again."
Brevard County agents are helping the investigators for the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children in an attempt to gather further leads.
Anyone with information on the deceased child can call the Brevard County Sheriff's Office at (321) 633-7162.
Defunct link from a 17-year-old post on this website: DEKALB COUNTY (ATLANTA) UNIDENTIFIED JOHN DOE
Edit again: The Fall Line mentioned the Christmas break theory almost exactly as I mentioned it, which was freaky to hear.
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