IN IN- Hayden Ian lee Manis, 9, reported missing 4.5+ years later, Muncie

[ChatteringBirds]

Imagine how he felt being taken away from his loving grandpa.

And I can't believe there weren't required follow-up visits with social workers to see how things were going and required drug testing of the "father" to maintain custody.

Well, I believe it, but it's a disgrace.

 

[INfisherman]

the reason both parents lost custody when he was 1 year old was that they were found in a hotel room with heroin in open view and within reach of the little guy

Man I absolutely hate states that over emphasize (MOO) reunification. IMO Dustin should never had gotten his son back so easily and there should have been a longer and more frequent period of follow up, check ins after he did.

Little man might not be missing now had that reunification been handled differently.

Unfortunately, that’s the case many times. A lot of times it’s a judge or CPS making the call & on occasion a bleeding heart who wants to give the parents a second chance. Other times, there are just too many of which to keep track. At least that’s how it appears in the area where I am located. Rural areas with low per capital income are probably much worse off. And we’re just talking the traditional meth & opiates. Fentanyl is really digging in its claws in recent years & becoming a major cause of deaths.

 

[tlcya]

During an appearance last week on "Crime Stories with Nancy Grace," Delaware County Prosecutor Eric Hoffman acknowledged at least one witness indicated Hayden had been killed and that his body had been disposed of. However, Hoffman said that claim had not been verified.
Muncie Crime Stoppers offers $1,000 reward for info leading deputies to Hayden Manis

 

[tlcya]

 

[tlcya]

During an appearance last week on "Crime Stories with Nancy Grace," Delaware County Prosecutor Eric Hoffman acknowledged at least one witness indicated Hayden had been killed and that his body had been disposed of. However, Hoffman said that claim had not been verified.
Muncie Crime Stoppers offers $1,000 reward for info leading deputies to Hayden Manis

quoting myself here because I want to know what witness prosecutor is referring to and what specifically they said/know and how they know it and yet never reported it before now.

 

[friendlysleuther]

quoting myself here because I want to know what witness prosecutor is referring to and what specifically they said/know and how they know it and yet never reported it before now.

During an appearance last week on "Crime Stories with Nancy Grace," Delaware County Prosecutor Eric Hoffman acknowledged at least one witness indicated Hayden had been killed and that his body had been disposed of. However, Hoffman said that claim had not been verified.
Muncie Crime Stoppers offers $1,000 reward for info leading deputies to Hayden Manis

This link isn’t working for me,
I think this may be a similar if not the same article, however.

“
While detectives and the prosecutor are not releasing specific details of their ongoing investigation, the prosecutor said information gathered by investigators is very disturbing
.
“It’s haunting. It’s definitely haunting, some of the facts of this case,” responded Hoffman, who also told 13 Investigates he believes the missing boy is no longer alive.

“Based on the evidence I’ve seen and the interviews that have been conducted, I do not have a reason to believe that.”

Despite the grim outlook, investigators are still hoping for tips and information from the public, and the prosecutor pledged the investigation will continue.

“There are very few days I come to this office and I don’t think about Hayden Manis. This case is on my mind, and it’s on the investigators’ minds on a daily basis,” Hoffman said.

“We’re not going to stop until we get to an answer. We need to know the truth.”

“
Eric Hoffman, Prosecutor

 

[Lusitana]

I fear that what happened to Harmony Montgomery also happened to Hayden.

 

[tlcya]

I fear that what happened to Harmony Montgomery also happened to Hayden.

same. The likelihood of finding Hayden alive is miniscule. We all know how this is probably going to play out.

 

[mlhenn]

Hayden Ian Lee Manis – The Charley Project

Details of Disappearance​

Hayden's family last saw him at a gathering on Christmas Eve in 2019. Another witness reported seeing him on January 11, 2020. He has never been heard from again. He lived with his father, Dustin Gary Michael Manis, at the time of his disappearance, and Dustin never reported him missing.

Hayden had originally been removed from Dustin's care after a drug arrest in 2018 and placed with his paternal grandfather, Gary Manis. Hayden had a close relationship with his grandfather. A year and a half later, after Dustin completed probation and drug treatment, a judge ordered his son returned to his custody in spite of Gary's objections.

Dustin took Hayden to visit his grandfather, aunts, uncles and cousins regularly through 2018 and 2019. After Dustin and Gary had an argument, though, the visits got further apart, and stopped altogether after Christmas 2019. Hayden's family members kept texting him inviting him and Hayden to family events, but neither of them ever came.

In 2024, Hayden's two great-mothers realized that both sides of the family had been given different explanations as to what had happened to him. They spoke to Gary, who contacted the authorities and asked them to find Hayden and Dustin. The police were able to find only Dustin.

Dustin claimed that the Indiana Department of Child Services had taken Hayden in 2022 and placed the boy in his mother's custody, but this was untrue; Hayden's mother had no idea where he was. There was also no record of Hayden having ever been enrolled in school anywhere, although he graduated from a Head Start school readiness program in 2018.

A photo of Dustin is posted with this case summary; he is considered the primary person of interest in Hayden's disapppearance. He was arrested at a traffic stop in November 2024, as he was found to be in possession of heroin, methamphetamine and a syringe. He was charged with possession of a narcotic drug, possession of meth and possession of paraphernalia on December 4. Nine days later, while out on bond in the drug case, Dustin fatally overdosed.

Authorities believe other people who are still living may know what happened to Hayden. Foul play is possible in his case; many of his relatives believe he is dead. His case remains unsolved.

 

[Innana]

This case is horrific. That child was failed in every way possible.

 

[tlcya]

one month since we've had any sort of update. This disappearing of this child did not happen in a vacuum. Someone knows something. I hope appropriate pressure is being applied to whoever knows where Mr. Manis disposed of this sweet boy. Who is this witness who disclosed to LE that Hayden was killed and disposed of? Was it the father's girlfriend? If so, why is she not facing some sort of concealment of a death charges at the very least?

 

[Iknewit80]

Age-progression to age 9 (circa 2024)

Hayden Ian Lee Manis - The Charley Project

 

[tlcya]

there have been zero updates in the past month regarding the investigation into what happened to Hayden.

 

[truthfinder2019]

I hope this means they have concrete leads. I hope..

 

[tlcya]

Still nothing. crickets. Someone knows where this little guy was disposed of. Someone needs to speak, he deserves at least the dignity of allowing extended family to mourn his loss and lay whatever remains to rest.