SCHENECTADY - A child's body was discovered Thursday evening behind a Schenectady house where local and federal authorities had been searching for a missing baby.

Police could not, however, confirm if the body was that of 4-month-old Rayen Puleski, whose aunt and extended family have been worried for him since Monday.

According to police and family, the child's mother, Heaven Puleski, had been less than forthcoming about her baby's whereabouts. Child Protective Services called police Tuesday to request assistance with a welfare check, but found no one home when they arrived at her residence at 766 State Street.

"This is still an open and active investigation, so there are questions that I am not going to be able to answer," police Sgt. Matthew Dearing told reporters Thursday night.

He was unable to comment, for instance, on the approximate age or gender of the child whose body was recovered, where specifically it was found, how long it appeared to have been there, and where Puleski was as of Thursday night.

She was not in custody and sources earlier in the day said she was taken to a hospital Thursday for unknown reasons.

No one was in police custody and no charges were pending related to the case as of Thursday night, Dearing said.

More details are expected following an autopsy, he added.

Lisa Dutcher, the child's great aunt, has spearheaded much of the family's interaction with the press and public. She said the last time she saw Rayen was when she babysat for him in mid-June, and noted that he appeared happy and healthy.

His only other known appearance since then was mid-July, officials said, when surveillance cameras in the neighborhood captured him.

Dutcher said she became especially concerned for Rayen on Monday when she heard a whirlwind of disturbing rumors. She said she called police to share those concerns and request a welfare check.

Police issued a news release Tuesday night requesting the public's help in locating mother and baby, and the next day they located Puleski by a Days Inn just down the street.

"She was brought down to the police station and talked to our detectives," Dearing said. "That was all on Wednesday."

On Thursday, the search intensified as police and FBI combed an area behind the State Street residence, working in a ditch and sending a diver into Cowhorn Creek, which runs behind several houses in the Hamilton Hill and Vale neighborhoods.

As a county coroner's vehicle pulled into the driveway Thursday evening, relatives broke down.

Family later expressed anger and dismay that they were not notified about the body's discovery, or about other details of the investigation.

Dutcher, along with a man who identified himself as Rayen's uncle, and three young women who said they were cousins, delivered their own news conference Thursday night to bemoan the lack of police communication.

Investigators visited Summit Towers apartments Thursday where they located a woman whom Dutcher in her online messages identified as the last person to be seen with Puleski and the baby.

Dutcher also stopped by the high rise on Albany Street Thursday.

Published reports say Puleski was arrested in 2016 for escaping custody of the Gloversville police.

Social services officials in Fulton County declined to say if their agency had had contact with Puleski.

The investigation will continue under the lead of Schenectady police with help from FBI and State Police, officials said Thursday night.

Paul Nelson contributed to this story