SOUTH BERWICK — Maine State Police have received dozens of calls from across the country throughout the night, but as of 9 a.m. none has led to the identification of a young boy found dead on a remote roadway Saturday afternoon.
“We’ve tracked down (the calls) and are looking for more,” said Maine Public Safety spokesman Steve McCausland. “We have a full crew in South Berwick. Investigators are continuing to work the case.”
The boy’s body was found by a local resident along the gravel portion of Dennett Road, which connects Route 4 in South Berwick to Route 9 in North Berwick, at about 5 p.m. Saturday.
On Sunday, police released a computer-generated photo of the boy, created by the Maine State Police Computer Crimes Unit. Police said the boy had short, wavy dark blonde hair and blue eyes and was 3 feet, 8 inches tall and weighed 45 pounds.
The boy was between 4 and 5 years old, police believe, because he still had his baby teeth.
His death has been suspicious from the beginning, said McCausland, because no young boy has been reported missing in the New England area.
“That is troubling,” said McCausland this morning. As well, he said it appears as if the boy’s body was dropped off in the location where it was found.
And if he happened to be in school ”“ and police don’t know if he had ”“ “obviously there’s an empty desk,” McCausland pointed out.
Police are not releasing the results of an autopsy conducted in Augusta Sunday afternoon.
Police this morning were planning to collect and examine videos from surveillance cameras in the South Berwick area in hopes that would lead to an identification. As well, state police have notified police across the country and have consulted with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, McCausland said.
Detectives set up a command post in a parking lot along Route 4 in South Berwick and have interviewed neighbors close to where the body was found on Dennett Road.
He was found fully clothed, wearing a Faded Glory-brand gray colored camouflage hooded sweatshirt, tan-colored khaki pants, a navy blue T-shirt with “Aviator Series” displayed on the front, and “Lightning McQueen” black sneakers.
State Police Sgt. Chris Harriman said the only way investigators are going to be able to identify the boy is if someone recognizes him and calls police.
McCausland said police also are looking for a navy blue Toyota Tacoma pickup truck that may be related to the case. It has an extended cab and a full cap over the bed. The truck has a white license plate, but the state is unknown.
Anyone with information on the boy’s identity or the pickup truck is asked to call Maine State Police in Gray, Maine, at (207) 657-3030.
— The Associated Press contributed to this report. Senior Staff Writer Tammy Wells can be contacted at 324-4444 or twells@journaltribune.com.
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