NV LITTLE ZION: M, 7-10, found near Mountain Springs Trail between Las Vegas & Pahrump, NV - 28 May 2021 *LIAM HUSTED*

Las Vegas police ask for help IDing young boy found dead by hikers, ‘victim of an obvious homicide'

Las Vegas authorities are asking the public to help identify a young boy who was discovered dead by a group of hikers Friday morning.

www.foxnews.com

Las Vegas police ask for help IDing young boy found dead by hikers, ‘victim of an obvious homicide'​

Police asked anyone aware of a missing child from Las Vegas to Southern California to reach out​

Las Vegas authorities are asking the public to help identify a young boy who was discovered dead by a group of hikers Friday morning.

The group was hiking the Mountain Springs Trailhead near State Route 160 somewhere between Las Vegas and Pahrump when they found the body at about 7:30 a.m., Las Vegas Police Lt. Ray Spencer told reporters.

Investigators believe the boy is possibly 10 years old and of Hispanic ethnicity. He was described as 4 feet 11 inches tall and weighing 123 pounds. Investigators said he is the "victim of an obvious homicide," possibly within the past 24 hours.

"It's paramount that we're able to identify him so we can begin the key points of this investigation," Spencer said at an afternoon news conference.

He declined to say what kind of injuries the body was found with or how the child died.

Las Vegas detectives have spoken with other law enforcement agencies in the state and Southern California to see if they have any missing persons reports that match the description of the boy, Spencer said.

Multiple detectives are working on the case, he said.

Spencer urged anyone in Las Vegas and the surrounding areas – including Southern California – to reach out to authorities if they have a child, nephew or grandchild that has gone missing.

 

[Sunburst]

That's a shame and I worried about this as well. It was a very unfortunate misidentification for many reasons.

LE had better get on doing everything in their power to get this into major news anywhere and everywhere and online as well. I don't do FB but people that do should share the fact he is NOT identified and ask all they know to pass it on along with his picture and for those they pass it to, to do the same, etc. I am not a FB fan but it arguably reaches the most people the fastest...

Reddit would be a good place. If anyone is fluent in Spanish, posting on Spanish language social media sites would help get the word out. IIRC, the state of AZ works with the Mexican government to help identify some John/Jane Does that have been found in Arizona. Metro has Spanish speaking officers- I am sure they will reach out to many more Spanish language sites and organizations both in-person and online.

 

[SheWhoMustNotBeNamed]

Vegas father mistakenly linked to boy’s killing calls for apology

Jose Montes-Herrera says he was surrounded by officers and stripped searched until police realized the mistake.

www.kolotv.com

Vegas father mistakenly linked to boy’s killing calls for apology​

A Las Vegas father says he is upset and in disbelief after his 8-year-old son was mistakenly identified as a young homicide victim, prompting police to announce they were searching for the man and his other son.

Jose Montes-Herrera told the Las Vegas Review-Journal that he seeks to clear his name and wants apologies from the police for releasing his name and prompting a search for himself and his 11-year-old son.

Police found the 37-year-old and both of his sons safe in central Utah where they had gone camping.

Montes-Herrera says he was surrounded by officers and stripped searched until police realized the mistake.

Las Vegas father wrongly named in boy's death says police pointed guns at him, took his kids

Jose Montes said he wanted to take his boys somewhere fun for the Memorial Day weekend.

www.fox5vegas.com

Las Vegas father wrongly named in boy's death says police pointed guns at him, took his kids​

Jose Montes said he wanted to take his boys somewhere fun for the Memorial Day weekend.

“I wanted to hang out with my sons. They had a long semester of school and we had this pandemic; that as soon as they graduate we’re going to head out and make these plans,” said Montes.

The family, along with friends, headed to the Duck Creek area of Utah to camp. Before he left Montes, told his brother they wouldn’t have cell service and to let others know that.

While out riding some all terrain vehicles, they got limited cell service and one of his son’s told his dad he had some messages.

“The next thing you know I’m bombarded saying turn myself into the police department. You’re wanted for murder,” said Montes.

Montes said he talked to the boy's mother on the phone and told her both of his sons were with him and put the one in question on the phone. Montes said he thought that would have cleared things up. But he said as the group stopped for a break on their ride in a small town, police pounced on them with guns drawn and took his two boys away, including the one who the mother identified as being dead.

 

[Kimster]

Vegas father mistakenly linked to boy’s killing calls for apology

Jose Montes-Herrera says he was surrounded by officers and stripped searched until police realized the mistake.

www.kolotv.com

Vegas father mistakenly linked to boy’s killing calls for apology​

A Las Vegas father says he is upset and in disbelief after his 8-year-old son was mistakenly identified as a young homicide victim, prompting police to announce they were searching for the man and his other son.

Jose Montes-Herrera told the Las Vegas Review-Journal that he seeks to clear his name and wants apologies from the police for releasing his name and prompting a search for himself and his 11-year-old son.

Police found the 37-year-old and both of his sons safe in central Utah where they had gone camping.

Montes-Herrera says he was surrounded by officers and stripped searched until police realized the mistake.

Las Vegas father wrongly named in boy's death says police pointed guns at him, took his kids

Jose Montes said he wanted to take his boys somewhere fun for the Memorial Day weekend.

www.fox5vegas.com

Las Vegas father wrongly named in boy's death says police pointed guns at him, took his kids​

Jose Montes said he wanted to take his boys somewhere fun for the Memorial Day weekend.

“I wanted to hang out with my sons. They had a long semester of school and we had this pandemic; that as soon as they graduate we’re going to head out and make these plans,” said Montes.

The family, along with friends, headed to the Duck Creek area of Utah to camp. Before he left Montes, told his brother they wouldn’t have cell service and to let others know that.

While out riding some all terrain vehicles, they got limited cell service and one of his son’s told his dad he had some messages.

“The next thing you know I’m bombarded saying turn myself into the police department. You’re wanted for murder,” said Montes.

Montes said he talked to the boy's mother on the phone and told her both of his sons were with him and put the one in question on the phone. Montes said he thought that would have cleared things up. But he said as the group stopped for a break on their ride in a small town, police pounced on them with guns drawn and took his two boys away, including the one who the mother identified as being dead.

I’m glad this is in the news again. Maybe the word will go out further letting people know that this boy has not been identified!

 

[kdg411]

Vegas father mistakenly linked to boy’s killing calls for apology

Jose Montes-Herrera says he was surrounded by officers and stripped searched until police realized the mistake.

www.kolotv.com

Vegas father mistakenly linked to boy’s killing calls for apology​

A Las Vegas father says he is upset and in disbelief after his 8-year-old son was mistakenly identified as a young homicide victim, prompting police to announce they were searching for the man and his other son.

Jose Montes-Herrera told the Las Vegas Review-Journal that he seeks to clear his name and wants apologies from the police for releasing his name and prompting a search for himself and his 11-year-old son.

Police found the 37-year-old and both of his sons safe in central Utah where they had gone camping.

Montes-Herrera says he was surrounded by officers and stripped searched until police realized the mistake.

Las Vegas father wrongly named in boy's death says police pointed guns at him, took his kids

Jose Montes said he wanted to take his boys somewhere fun for the Memorial Day weekend.

www.fox5vegas.com

Las Vegas father wrongly named in boy's death says police pointed guns at him, took his kids​

Jose Montes said he wanted to take his boys somewhere fun for the Memorial Day weekend.

“I wanted to hang out with my sons. They had a long semester of school and we had this pandemic; that as soon as they graduate we’re going to head out and make these plans,” said Montes.

The family, along with friends, headed to the Duck Creek area of Utah to camp. Before he left Montes, told his brother they wouldn’t have cell service and to let others know that.

While out riding some all terrain vehicles, they got limited cell service and one of his son’s told his dad he had some messages.

“The next thing you know I’m bombarded saying turn myself into the police department. You’re wanted for murder,” said Montes.

Montes said he talked to the boy's mother on the phone and told her both of his sons were with him and put the one in question on the phone. Montes said he thought that would have cleared things up. But he said as the group stopped for a break on their ride in a small town, police pounced on them with guns drawn and took his two boys away, including the one who the mother identified as being dead.

Police don't owe him an apology, the childs Mother, however is where he should start. MOO

 

[GrandmaBear]

It's no surprise. Can you imagine? And there are probably still people who think he killed a child.

It's a tough one, police took it seriously and were doing their job and a child was possibly at risk, however, once they had him at gun point, if both children were there, was there a reason for a strip search until they confirmed some things and who the two boys were? If that's true...

It's an unfortunate situation and it came from the mother's incorrect ID but I wouldn't have wanted to be on his end of things and the two boys were probably traumatized as well.

 

[Steve]

Police don't owe him an apology, the childs Mother, however is where he should start. MOO

Agreed that they were doing their jobs. It would probably be good to get something “on the record” to help mitigate the damage to his reputation, though. Employers do background checks that may or may not be thorough, and who knows what Googling his name would turn up years from now.

 

[Sunburst]

He is going to referred to as " John Little Zion Doe" according to Nevada LE.

 

[kdg411]

Investigators are confident the body had been left after dark. "Little Zion" is the name of a trailhead at Mountain Springs, where the body was found.

Do you know this boy? FBI offers $10K reward to ID John 'Little Zion' Doe, slain boy found off trail near Las Vegas

This is the first time in several years the FBI has assisted Las Vegas police in identifying a body.

www.rgj.com

*(each of the renderings are quite different, hopefully someone recognizes him)

 

[SheWhoMustNotBeNamed]

‘We will not stop,’ new photo released, $10K reward offered in effort to identify dead child found near Mountain Springs

Metro police, FBI to hold news conference on unidentified boy whose body was found off State Route 160

www.8newsnow.com

The boy was found by a hiker on Friday morning, May 28 at the Mountain Springs Trailhead. Police believe his body had been recently placed there. They urge anyone who was traveling on State Route 160 late Thursday night (May 27) through early Friday morning (May 28) and may have noticed something unusual, such as a car pulled off to the side of the road, police want to hear from you. They say no detail is too small.

“We are literally identifying any potential leads regarding who the deceased is. We are going door to door looking to make sure that on every one of those tips that the children someone has called in we are verifying their well-being. I can tell you that is several hundred that we have done so far,” Metro Lt. Spencer said.

 

[SheWhoMustNotBeNamed]

Many agencies are still listing him as Hispanic, but NCMEC says his race is not known 100% at this time. NamUs says "Hispanic / Latino, Uncertain".
NCMEC and NamUs both list him age 7-10 now.

Have you seen this child?

Missing From: , . Missing Date: .

www.missingkids.org

On May 28, 2021 remains of a young boy were found near the Mountain Springs Trailhead off State Route 160 in Clark County, Nevada. He had been deceased less than a day. The child is 7-10 years old. His race is unknown but Caucasian, Hispanic, Asian, and Native American cannot be ruled out at this time. The child stood approximately 4'11" tall and weighed 123 pound. He had short black hair and a small gap in between his two front teeth. Images featured are a facial reconstruction created by a NCMEC Forensic Artist and depicts what the child may have looked like in life.

The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

By bringing people, information, forensic science and technology together, NamUs helps resolve cases.

www.namus.gov

Hikers were in the area of State Route 160 west of Mile Marker 20 near the Little Zion trail. They observed the decedent lying in the desert area near the dirt roadway. This is approximately 30 miles southwest of downtown Las Vegas. He had been deceased less than a day.

Condition of Remains: Recognizable face

 

[Sunburst]

Someone posted his info on Reddit, but only in the Nevada and Las Vegas subforums. Nevada LE are appealing to teachers in NV, AZ, UT, and CA to take a look and see if they recognize him. LE are going door to door following up on several hundred boys who have been called in to the tip line, checking on their well-being. Just MOO, but those sketches are a little too generic. If LE would release just a tiny bit more info, such as the location or shape of a mole or scar, may aid in identifying him.

 

[SheWhoMustNotBeNamed]

 

[SheWhoMustNotBeNamed]

Forensic technology, artistry used in recent 'Little Zion' image

LAS VEGAS (FOX5) -- The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children created the most recent and enhanced image that reflects what the young boy found dead in Mountain Springs

www.fox5vegas.com

Forensic technology, artistry used in recent 'Little Zion' image​

NCMEC has a forensic imaging unit that specializes in creating age progression photos for children that have been missing for at least two years, and creates facial reconstruction images using morgue photographs for unidentified remains.

Colin McNally, the supervisor for the imaging unit, said facial reconstruction was used in this case of the boy found dead near Mountain Springs. He first received a black and white image of the boy last Saturday.

"I was able to do the reconstruction in a matter of hours, pass it back to my case manager, and then she coordinated that into law enforcement. Now this was done using Adobe Photoshop which is how we do all of our morgue photo reconstructions basically doing an overlay of the original image of the child morgue photograph, and doing photo compositing to open up the eyes, sort of clean up the tissue damage, change the perspective of the image so that it’s turned upright," McNally said.

Since that image was released, McNally said he received color photographs and a picture of the child's teeth that was worth updating.

“Going from only having black and white photos to getting more high-resolution color photographs and then pictures of the child’s teeth in this specific case was a game changer for me as the forensic artist working on this case and capturing more of what this child would’ve looked like when he was alive," McNally said.


“These images are really important, to make sure we’re capturing what this child would’ve looked like-it's not just creating a face to put out with the case but making this truly specific to this child based on the image that we have, supplemental image to go along with the case information in the hopes that someone will recognize him and give the child his name back,” McNally said.

 

[SheWhoMustNotBeNamed]

Police ID boy found dead in mountains west of Las Vegas, mother wanted as suspect

Las Vegas Metropolitan Police held a press conference Monday afternoon to provide a "significant update" on the investigation into an unidentified boy's murder, who has been dubbed "John "Little Zion" Doe. Investigators said they were able to identify the child as 7-year-old Liam Husted, after a...

www.news3lv.com

LVMPD identify 'Little Zion' in homicide case
Las Vegas Metropolitan Police held a press conference Monday afternoon to provide a "significant update" on the investigation into an unidentified boy's murder, who has been dubbed "John "Little Zion" Doe.

Investigators said they were able to identify the child as 7-year-old Liam Husted, after a tip that was received by San Jose police. Detectives and forensic scientists were able match DNA from articles in San Jose.

Liam was last seen in the San Jose area on May 24. A family friend reported that she had not seen the mother, 35-year-old Samantha Moreno Rodriguez or Liam in two weeks.

Police believe Samantha and the boy left San Jose on May 24th, driving a 2007 dark blue Dodge Caliber with California license plate 6WLH211., packed with belongings. They were in Laguna Beach on May 26, then Victorville, CA the same day.

Liam was discovered on May 28. On the 29th, the vehicle was spotted near Grand Junction, CO.

The last time anyone knew where Samantha's location was in a Denver area hotel.

Police have issued a nationwide arrest warrant for Samantha Moreno Rodriguez.

The father of Liam is not suspected in this case.

 

[SheWhoMustNotBeNamed]

Body Of John ‘Little Zion’ Doe Found Near Las Vegas Identified As Missing San Jose 7-Year-Old; Mother Sought In Murder – CBS San Francisco -

LAS VEGAS (CBS SF) — Authorities have identified the body of a young child found outside of Las Vegas last month as a missing boy from San Jose and police are searching for the boy’s mother who investigators believe murdered him. Las Vegas Metropolitan Police said Monday the body, who...

news.besthinditech.com

 

[SheWhoMustNotBeNamed]

Authorities provide update on mom suspected of killing her 7-year-old boy; arrested in Colorado

A woman last seen in Colorado is suspected of killing her own child.

www.kktv.com

WANTED: Mom of 7-year-old boy found dead near Las Vegas was last spotted in Colorado​

A woman last seen in Colorado is suspected of killing her own child.

Authorities in Las Vegas shared the details on Monday. They identified the suspect as 35-year-old Samantha Rodriguez, she’s pictured at the top of this article. Rodriguez was last seen in Denver driving a 2007 Dodge Caliber with California license plate 6WLH211.

 

[GrandmaBear]

Wow. There must be more behind the scenes going on here for someone in California to connect this boy to the body in Las Vegas AND for LE to know she was also in Denver. The odds of that just happening or coming together seem astronomical. So we do have someone from out of state most likely that dumped this poor child in Nevada.

 

[SheWhoMustNotBeNamed]

Wow. There must be more behind the scenes going on here for someone in California to connect this boy to the body in Las Vegas AND for LE to know she was also in Denver. The odds of that just happening or coming together seem astronomical. So we do have someone from out of state most likely that dumped this poor child in Nevada.

They would have started investigating her several days ago when the tip came in. Probably able to find her license plate on a highway tracker or some such while waiting for the identification to come back. They were working on this specific ID at least through the weekend.

They left San Jose on May 24. They were in Laguna Beach (approx. 6 hours drive south) on May 26. Her vehicle seen later that day near Victorville. Two days later, Liam is found. The next day her car is in Grand Junction CO. Two days after that she's in a hotel in the Denver CO area. Now it's been a week with no further sightings.

Liam Husted - Google My Maps

Liam Husted

www.google.com

WHY did she leave San Jose? Was this all planned? Was she taking him on a "goodbye" trip to Laguna Beach? Or did something happen and she decided to flee?

 

[GrandmaBear]

They would have started investigating her several days ago when the tip came in. Probably able to find her license plate on a highway tracker or some such while waiting for the identification to come back. They were working on this specific ID at least through the weekend.

They left San Jose on May 24. They were in Laguna Beach (approx. 6 hours drive south) on May 26. Her vehicle seen later that day near Victorville. Two days later, Liam is found. The next day her car is in Grand Junction CO. Two days after that she's in a hotel in the Denver CO area. Now it's been a week with no further sightings.

Liam Husted - Google My Maps

Liam Husted

www.google.com

WHY did she leave San Jose? Was this all planned? Was she taking him on a "goodbye" trip to Laguna Beach? Or did something happen and she decided to flee?

I can believe the highway tracker and all that and maybe someone in California saw the picture from Vegas. The Denver motel though I am almost thinking would have had to come from one of a few things, tracking a cell phone perhaps, a credit card/bank transaction or she called someone or some such.

Sadly, she almost had to feel relief when they had the wrong child and were after the wrong perp if she saw it which I would suspect she did. Her last sighting would almost coincide with her finding out they had the wrong person or just a bit after wouldn't it? Her picture is out now, I would suspect/hope it won't be too long before she is in custody.

 

[Sunburst]

Sounds like she was following I-80 east. The next plausible place to stop, after leaving the Denver area, would have been around Des Moines, Iowa, then through Chicago traffic into Indiana and Ohio and continuing further east. That is, if she stuck with I-80 all the way. I bet she didn't.