A Savannah, Georgia, toddler who disappeared more than a week ago is presumed dead “based on multiple search warrants and interviews,” authorities announced Thursday, saying they aren’t sure precisely where the child’s remains or their prime suspect—the boy’s mom—are located.
Twenty-month-old Quinton Simon went missing on Oct. 5, and has not been seen since. His 22-year-old mother, Leilani Simon, is the primary suspect in the case, Chief Jeffrey Hadley of the Chatham County Police Department said at an afternoon press conference.
Investigators don’t know “where she is currently,” according to Hadley. However, he added, “We don’t believe she’s a flight risk at this time.”
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Cops also have not located Quinton’s body, which they reportedly believe may be in an as-yet-unidentified landfill.
The day Quinton vanished, his mom texted the boy’s babysitter to tell her she wouldn’t be needed. A little less than four hours later, Simon reported to police that Quinton was missing and accused his biological father of having abducted him. But cops quickly ruled the father out, and set their sights on Simon.
“We have not made an arrest or filed any charges at this time,” Hadley told reporters. “From the moment we received the 911 call reporting Quinton missing, we have conducted an exhaustive search for him. Sadly, we still have not found Quinton, but our search and our investigation will continue—and it will continue with every available resource we have, in order to give Quinton’s family closure, and see that justice is served in this case.”
Hadley declined to elaborate on why Simon has not yet been arrested or charged, and would not say what led cops to believe Quinton is no longer alive.
“What I can say is that the evidence so far, based on multiple interviews and search warrants, has led us to the conclusion that Quinton is deceased,” he said. “The investigation doesn’t end right there. We will continue to investigate this until its final conclusion, because… we only get one shot at this [and] we’re going to do it right.”
FBI Supervisory Special Agent Will Clarke, who appeared today with Hadley, said the bureau’s “heart breaks along with yours in trying to comprehend what we believe happened here.”
More than 40 FBI agents, analysts, task force officers, and support staff have joined the investigation, according to Clarke, who said he and his colleagues mobilized less than three hours after Quinton was reported missing. The FBI’s Child Abduction Rapid Deployment (CARD) Team is also involved, bringing in specialists from around the country to assist.
“We know that millions of people fell in love with Quinton Simon the moment they saw his face and learned of his disappearance,” Hadley said. “We have seen the outpouring of love and concern for this child, and the outpouring of grief at the latest developments in this case. The men and women of the Chatham County Police Department share that same sadness, but we also feel very determined to keep working as hard as we can, and for as long as we have to, to find Quinton.”
