(NewsNation) — Police officials gave an update on the search for the remains of 20-month-old Quinton Simon, who went missing from Savannah, Georgia, on Oct. 5.
While evidence brought the investigation to a Chatham County landfill, the Chatham County Police Department (CCPD) said the probability of finding Quinton’s body is low, NewsNation affiliate WSAV reported.
“The photos and videos we’ve shared over the last four weeks show you what a massive yet painstaking effort this has been for every single person involved,” police tweeted Monday.
This even as, according to WSAV, agents from the FBI, Georgia Bureau of Investigation, Chatham County Sheriff’s Office and Georgia Department of Natural Resources have all helped navigate through tons of trash in efforts to find the missing child, WSAV reported.
So far, police have named Quinton’s mother, Leilani Simon, as their prime suspect — a conclusion they reached after announcing they were officially treating the case as a criminal investigation and sending a team of search dogs into the boy’s home.
While she had originally called 911 to report that her son was gone, many, including Quinton’s grandmother, Billie Jo Howell, feel Leilani Simon’s story didn’t add up.
Brett Buffington, the lead investigative reporter at WSAV-TV in Savannah, Georgia, joined “NewsNation Live” Thursday to give details on the current state of the case.
Buffington explained that, although investigators are more than a month into the search for the boy’s body, and there has been outrage from the community, police have not made criminal charges because they’re working the case.
“They don’t want to prematurely charge anyone in this case,” Buffington said Thursday. “The police chief told me, when they file those charges, they want to make sure they stick.”
As for Leilani Simon’s boyfriend, Daniel Youngkin, who was the last person to see Quinton Simon, according to police reports, Buffington said he has packed up and left town.
“The only known address we have for him is in Dunn, North Carolina — just outside of Raleigh, North Carolina,” Buffington said before adding that Youngkin had been arrested at least twice in the past.
“So far, since Oct. 5, we have not seen Daniel Youngkin.”
Despite the lack of substantial evidence thus far, however, CCPD officials said they are devoted to continuing until they find Simon’s remains.
“At this point, we do not have a scheduled end date for the landfill search. Meanwhile, our investigative team continues working diligently to uncover and collect every piece of evidence relevant in this case.” CCPD tweeted Monday.
