Chicago police said Thursday they're still looking for two witnesses who last saw 2-year-old Kyrian Knox alive before the young boy was reported missing and later found dismembered in a Chicago lagoon.
Police said the toddler and another 2-year-old were in the care of Kamel Harris and his one-time live-in girlfriend Danyelle Foggs when the couple reported a group of people claiming to know Kyrian's mother picked him up from their home. The pair reported the boy missing about two weeks later, on Sept. 17, after realizing Kyrian was not returned to his mother.
Police on Thursday said they have made numerous attempts to speak with Harris, who was last seen in the Milwaukee suburb of West Allis, and Foggs, who was last in the Rockford area, but their attempts have been unsuccessful.
"It's been extremely frustrating that we have not been able to make contact with these two people," said Chief Dean Andrews. "They are critical to this investigation, being the last people that were with Kyrian when we last knew his whereabouts."
Police revealed earlier this month the remains found in a Garfield Park Lagoon in September were in fact Knox's. The boy was identified through DNA testing, police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said.
Kyrian's mother, Lanisha Knox, 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 had not seen Kyrian since she dropped him off.
Police took DNA samples from Lanisha Knox, who was also reported missing from Rockford earlier in September, according to Rockford Police Assistant Deputy Chief Patrick Hoey.
The family said Thursday Knox made numerous attempts to get her son back, but was always given excuses. They added that the couple watching him drove to Chicago for unknown reasons and told the family someone came and got the toddler.
"It's like a bad dream to all of us," said Kyrian's grandmother Camesha Harris. "At some point she trusted [Harris] because it was her roommate's dad and she thought he would be safe, but obviously something went terribly wrong."
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.
"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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In September, authorities found several body parts belonging 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.
Police said speaking with Harris and Foggs is critical to the investigation into Kyrian's death.
"It’s unfathomable to me that when we’re talking about a tender age child that we find body parts of and you won’t cooperate on a case like that," Andrews said. "I just can’t wrap my brain around that."
