—UPDATE—
Police have charged the mother of a missing 2-year-old boy who went missing in Florida last week.
According to ABC News, the body of Jordan Belliveau was found in a wooded area five days after he was believed to be abducted by a stranger who offered he and his mother a ride as they walked home Saturday, police said.
“THE AMBER Alert for Jordan Belliveau has been canceled. Sadly, the child has been found deceased,” the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) said in a tweet Tuesday.
The child’s mother, Charisse Stinson, was arrested and charged with first-degree murder, WFTS Tampa Bay reported. Authorities have remained tight-lipped about how the child was killed or what evidence led them to arrest Stinson.
— ORIGINAL STORY —
Several Florida law enforcement agencies joined the search for a missing 2-year-old boy who they believe may have been kidnapped by a stranger.
The Largo Police Department issued an AMBER alert for Jordan Belliveau on Monday after his mother says he disappeared. It’s been 24 hours and police say they’re now searching ponds and other bodies of water hoping to find the missing child.
“Unfortunately, it’s Florida,” said Police Major Stephen Slaughter. “We have a lot of ponds, we have a lot of streams, we have a lot of different areas of water and a small toddler can find his way in there pretty easily, so we want to make sure we look at those.”
According to the Miami Herald, Belliveau’s mother told police she was walking with her child early Saturday when a stranger offered them a lift and struck her in the face, knocking her unconscious. When she awoke the next day, the 21-year-old said she was in a wooded area and couldn’t find her son.
Belliveau is described as an African-American boy with short brown hair and brown eyes. Police say he was last seen wearing a blue shirt with “72” on the front, blue gym shorts with white stripes on the side and a pair of black and white Nike sneakers.
His mother says he also has a birthmark on his stomach and a healing cut under his chin.
In the meantime, authorities have released a sketch of the man they suspect took the boy. The man, who may go by the name “Antwan” is described as an African-American male with dreads and gold teeth and is approximately 25 years old, with brown hair and brown eyes. He was last sporting a white tank top and black gym shorts with an “AND1” logo, according to police.
Police said the child was last seen riding in the suspect’s 2010 white Toyota Camry. His mother admitted she didn’t know the man but got in his car because her child was too heavy to carry all the way home, ABC News reported.
Police say she’s cooperating with the investigation.
“Anybody that may know the whereabouts of Jordan, we urge you to please just take him to a safe place like a local fire station or a library,” Slaughter said. “No questions asked — just drop Jordan off. We need Jordan back.”
Anyone with information on Belliveau’s whereabouts is asked to call Largo Police Department at at 727-587-6730; or FDLE at 888-356-4774 or via the FDLE website.
Watch more in the video below.