There has been a devastating break in the case of missing 2-year-old J’Asiah Mitchell.
Authorities confirmed to Channel 2 Action News that they have found a body that could be J’Asiah at a garbage facility in East Point.
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Now, the East Point Police is asking for DNA from the toddler’s family to see if the remains they found are Mitchell’s.
Channel 2′s Veronica Griffin was live on WSB Tonight at 11 p.m. where they found Mitchell’s body at a transfer station on South Martin. The lead detective in the search for the toddler struggled to hold back tears shortly after the child’s body was found.
“Uhm… it’s just a two-year-old that can’t really defend himself. It’s just unfortunate that this happened to him,” said Sgt. Rick Michaud with East Point Police Department.
The transfer station in East Point is where household trash and other materials are separated for recycling before trash heads out to a landfill.
“We can tell you the trash we looked in was picked up from near the father’s apartment,” said Chief Shawn Buchanan with EPPD.
Mitchell was reported missing a week ago after his father said he’d been kidnapped at gunpoint in DeKalb County. Early on, police said the father’s story didn’t add up. So, they searched everywhere for him, even drained a lake.
The father was arrested for making false statements.
A caravan of police cars from EPPD, FBI and Georgia Bureau of Investigations all worked together to find the body.
“The detectives are very emotional. The family is very emotional,” said Buchanan.
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Investigators told Channel 2 Action News it hard having to tell the family there is a strong possibility the body belongs to J’Asiah.
They then asked the mom and grandma for DNA samples to help with identification.
The chief says the GBI will compare the DNA samples from the mother and grandmother with the body found.
They also added that the father is now the primary suspect.
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