Search For Clues On Dismembered Toddler Found In Lagoon Goes National

By Kate Shepherd in News on Sep 14, 2015 3:45PM

Chicago police spent the weekend working on the tragic case of an unidentified toddler whose body parts were found in the Garfield Park lagoon earlier this month. The lagoon search was completed on Sunday and authorities have expanded their search to other areas of the city. Investigators are also diligently looking through missing persons cases around the country to find a link to the unidentified child.

No more remains were found after the lagoon was drained, according to NBC 5. The search began on Sept. 5 when a foot belonging to an African-American toddler was spotted floating in the lagoon. Police were called in and found the other foot, two hands and the child's head. Cook County Sheriff's Detective Tim McPhillips draw a sketch of the child.



Sketch of toddler (Chicago Police)

Police have also been searching Douglas Park, Humboldt Park, Columbus Park, and an area near the Bishop Ford and the access point of the Cal-Sag Channel, according to the Sun-Times. Officials confirmed that they are searching Columbus and Humboldt Parks.

"I was told that Columbus Park and Humboldt Park are more of a precautionary measure. The other locations, I suppose that's possible," Police spokesman Veejay Zala told the Sun-Times. "Again, we're going to look to see if there's any evidence of foul play at those locations to help us get to the bottom of this case."

Investigators have been working with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, the FBI and other state and local law enforcement authorities to possibly link missing children to the unidentified remains, according to the Sun-Times.

One of the cases is the disappearance of 2-year-old King Walker, along with his mentally disabled aunt 21-year-old Diamond Bynum, from Gary, Ind. on July 25. The young boy's stepmother said she took a nap with Walker and Bynum and we she woke up, both of them were gone.

Police haven't ruled out Walker's case but the evidence doesn't point to a match either.

"At this point, we don't believe it to be related," Police Supt. Garry McCarthy said at a press conference las week. "It doesn't look like the circumstances that we know occurred in Gary would match up to the condition of the body parts that we've recovered here."

Another case police have been looking into is the disappearance of 2-year-old Malik Drummond from Searcy, Ark. on Nov. 23, 2014. The boy reportedly walked away from his father's home and has not been seen since.

"All I can tell you is area detectives are aware of that case and are pursuing all leads," Zala told the Sun-Times.