Rockford Police have joined forces with Chicago Police to investigate a possible connection between a missing Rockford boy and the remains of a toddler found in the Garfield Park lagoon earlier this month.
Police have taken DNA samples from Lanisha Knox, the mother of 2-year-old Kyrian Knox, who was reported missing from Rockford last week, according to Rockford Police Assistant Deputy Chief Patrick Hoey.
Kyrian's mother said she left her son with her best friend's family in Rockford on Aug. 18, and the family agreed to watch him for two weeks while she started a new job. Knox has not seen Kyrian since she dropped him off.
"Emotionally, for me this has been hell," Knox said. "Because my son has never been away from me."
The details surrounding Kyrian's disappearance are under investigation, but Hoey said there is no evidence he was abducted, adding that the disappearance did not meet the criteria for an Amber Alert.
Knox said she made repeated attempts in early September to go to Rockford to pick Kyrian up, but the family who was watching him always made an excuse about why it wasn't good timing.
"At this point, I don't trust anyone and I do feel like somebody knows something and they're not saying anything," Knox said.
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Earlier this month, authorities found several body parts belong to a toddler in Chicago's Garfield Park lagoon. Police said they recovered two feet, two hands and a head, all belonging to a child. A 20-pound weight was also found near the body parts, but it has not been determined if the weight is related to the discovery.
Although police continue to investigate a possible connection between Kyrian's disappearance and the remains found in the lagoon, Hoey could not confirm any actual connection.
"Any correlation between the missing boy, Kyrian, and the Chicago investigation is merely speculation," Hoey said.
The child whose remains were found in the lagoon was described as an African-American child between the ages of 2 and 3. The child had short, curly black hair, brown eyes and earlobes that were not pierced, according to a statement from the medical examiner and Chicago police.
Kyrian was described as a 2-year-old African-American boy with low cut black hair and brown eyes, according to Hoey. He is about 30 inches tall and weights about 35 pounds.
"Until we can identify the child found in Chicago, it would be speculative to say that it is Kyrian," Hoey said.
In the Garfield Park case, investigators said they were following up on all documented missing person cases and working with the FBI and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, said Anthony Guglielmi, a spokesperson for the Chicago Police Department.
Lanisha Knox said she doesn't believe the child found in the lagoon is her son after looking at the sketch, noting that the hair was too long.
"That baby and my baby look nothing alike," Knox said.
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The remains have undergone several other tests, including a "dental consultation" and DNA sampling, but the results that have come back have not been able to determine the identity of the child.
Anyone with information about Kyrian's disappearance should call Rockford Police at (815) 987-5824 or Crime Stoppers at (815) 963-7867. Knox's family is offering a $10,000 reward for any solid information that lead police to Kyrian.
