Cops, K9 Units Search Zion for Missing 5-Month-Old

All-call sends law enforcement from several agencies to northern suburb; Police say social media chatter of three slain is untrue

A man sought in the case of a missing Zion boy was found and being questioned Wednesday evening, hours after the search for him and 5-month-old Joshua Summeries began, officials confirmed.

There still was no information about Summeries, but a man described as his mother's boyfriend was found hiding in the woods on the north end of the far northern suburb after authorities handed out leaflets with his photo.

Authorities from several law enforcement agencies earlier in the day converged on a Zion neighborhood to search for the boy, who they said vanished under "suspicious circumstances."

A call about the missing child came into authorities just after 8 a.m., police Chief Wayne Brooks said. The caller said "unknown persons" took the infant from a unit in an apartment complex on the 2300 block of Galilee Avenue, he said.

All of the officers called fell under the Northern Illinois Police Alarm System, essentially an all-call when well-trained law enforcement resources are needed quickly. Officers from four counties -- DuPage, Lake, Cook and McHenry -- as well as SWAT teams and K9 units, responded to the area near 21st Street and Hebron Avenue in the suburb near the Illinois/Wisconsin border.

Brooks said about 125 officers, community service members and other personnel were involved in the search. Officials said Summeries' mother was cooperative.

An AMBER Alert was not issued because officials didn't have a vehicle description or license plate number, information necessary to engage an alert.

The Zion Police Department on Facebook refuted posts on social media that three people had been slain in the area.

 
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"I'm frightened as everyone else is," said neighbor Latanya Cochran. "We want to know exactly what's going on with the child that's missing."

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