After missing 13-year-old boy Corey Brown was found dead in Marshalltown, Iowa, his community has spoken out.
Corey was found dead on Jan. 27 after going missing earlier in the week amid poor weather conditions and sub-zero temperatures.
“Anyone with kids has had discussions with their children about household rules,” Marshalltown Police Chief Mike Tupper told NBC on Jan. 28. “This was a typical parent-teenager interaction. No anger. Nothing extraordinary.”
“He was wearing the same clothes he left home in,” Tupper said when the boy’s body was located.
“At this time, there is no evidence or information that indicates criminal activity is connected to this missing person/death investigation,” the office wrote.
Police added that it’s still an active investigation.
“All possible scenarios will be thoroughly investigated,” the department stated.
During the search for the boy, temperatures never got above 29 degrees Fahrenheit, and the low temperature was -9 degrees. Meanwhile, about 6 inches of snow fell in the city during that time.
Marshalltown is located 50 miles northwest of Des Moines.
Community Response
At a press conference last week when the boy was still missing, his parents issued an emotional plea for his safe return.“Corey you know how much we love you, and I’m not gonna stop until we find you,” his mother Michelle Brown said at a press conference, CBS reported.
“We are saddened to learn of the death of one of our students,” Marshalltown Community School District said in a statement to the news outlet. “Our thoughts and deepest condolences go out to the Brown family and those close to Corey. He was loved by many and will be deeply missed. We will continue to offer additional counselors at Miller Middle School and Marshalltown High School to assist those in need.”
Missing Children
There were more than 464,000 missing children reported in the FBI’s National Crime Information Center in 2017, according to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Under federal law, when a child is reported missing to law enforcement they must be entered into the database. In 2016, there were over 465,000 entries.“This number represents reports of missing children. That means if a child runs away multiple times in a year, each instance would be entered into NCIC separately and counted in the yearly total. Likewise, if an entry is withdrawn and amended or updated, that would also be reflected in the total,” the center noted.
In 2017, the center said it assisted officers and families with the cases of more than 27,000 missing children. In those cases, 91 percent were endangered runaways, and 5 percent were family abductions.
About one in seven children reported missing to the center in 2017 were likely victims of child sex trafficking.