Last month, human remains were found in Iowa, and now it has been identified as the remains of a minor boy, who went missing about six months ago.
According to the Poweshiek County Sheriff's Office, the remains of the 11-year-old, Xavior Harrelson, were "located in a rural area approximately three miles northwest of Montezuma," reported Fox News.
A statement was shared on Facebook in which Sheriff Thomas E. Kriegel said that they got a notice Friday from the Iowa State Medical Examiner's office confirming that the remains found Sept. 30 "have been positively identified as those of Xavior Harrelson." Cops are yet to release the cause of death of Harrelson, who went missing soon after Montezuma Elementary School released for summer holiday.
Death of Harrelson, who went missing since May 27, was being investigated as suspicious, said Mitch Mortvedt, assistant director of the Iowa Department of Criminal Investigation. The body was found by a farmer in a field not too far from the house of the boy, who was last spotted near his residence in the northwest part of Montezuma.
After the confirmation of his death, Jacki Bolen, the Mayor of Montezuma, told the Des Moines Register that they never forgot the boy and his kind heart, and said that the Montezuma community was greatly saddened by the news of his passing. Harrelson's loved ones remembered him as a boy who was joyful, had shining dimples and a childish smile and could make people laugh.
After his disappearance, the community held fundraisers and a benefit concert, and raised more than $35,000 in reward money. Throughout the community, ribbons in orange, which was his favorite color, were wrapped around trees and light posts.
In August, his mom, Sarah, said that the wait for his news was excruciating and she wondered why him. After his body was discovered, Bolen said the community was left in fear, sadness and shock. Bolen said, "We want our kids to be safe. This should never happen to anyone."
Three years ago, the body of another Poweshiek County resident, Mollie Tibbetts, 20, was discovered off a road, surrounded by cornfields. A farmhand, Cristhian Bahena Rivera, was later convicted of murder in the death of Tibbetts, who was reported missing after a run near Brooklyn, which is approximately 15 miles from Montezuma.
