The body of a boy was found in the Mississippi River over the weekend and police officials are leaning towards homicide investigation as the father of the victim is the primary suspect.
According to CBS Minnesota, investigators identified the boy as ten-year-old Barway Collins who has been missing since March 18 this year. The boy was reportedly dropped off in his apartment via a school van when he went missing.
Police officials told the publication that they obtained electronic evidence that Barway's father, Pierre Collins, was in the area where the boy was found. Crystal Police Chief Stephanie Revering shared in a statement to the publication did not clearly say if their evidence was of a CCTV video or a text message and also did not confirm if they are considering other suspects in the case.
Officials also said that Pierre has not been very cooperative with them but they are now guarding the home of Barway in order to protect the other family members who are still in the apartment. Officials added that they confiscated Pierre's passport in order to assure that he won't be leaving the country. Pierre is not yet arrested or held in prison although there is already electronic evidence.
A video surveillance of Barway was released showing that when the van dropped him off, he was supposed to go inside his apartment complex but someone supposedly called him over to the parking lot. A video from the van was also investigated and Barway was seen saying that he saw his dad and his uncle nearby before walking away from the apartment.
The exact cause of death of Barway is yet to be determined because the medical examiner is not yet done with the tests.
In an interview with Star Tribune, Pierre is insistent that he is innocent and shared that he was not at home when his son disappeared. He added that he is also very upset as he was considered as a suspect. Pierre shared with the publication that he is cooperating with the police and that he will do anything to bring the body of his son home.