Authorities in three states were looking Saturday for an 11-year-old boy and his father after the boy’s half-brother was found dead on a hiking trail outside Las Vegas.
After authorities asked for help identifying the dead 8-year-old whose body was found Friday, his mother stepped forward early Saturday and said his father, Jose Montes-Herrera, had picked him up Thursday night before getting his other son, Eden Herrera, 11, said Lt. Ray Spencer of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department.
“The coroner spoke with the mother, and the mother viewed photographs of the deceased and made a positive identification that the child that was found yesterday is her 8-year-old son,” Spencer said.
Authorities did not release the younger son’s name.
After Montes-Herrera picked up the children, “that is the last time that Eden, the 8-year-old or the biological father of both children have been seen,” Spencer said.
Authorities said the 8-year-old’s body may have been placed on the trail Thursday night in Mountain Springs, about 30 miles west of Las Vegas. Hikers discovered the body on the Mountain Springs Trailhead about 7:45 a.m., police said.
Law enforcement in Nevada, Utah and California were looking for Montes-Herrera and his white, raised 2015 GMC pickup.
Spencer said Montes-Herrera often picked up his sons for weekend visits.
“It’s not a parental kidnapping,” Spencer said.
Source: | This article originally belongs to Nbcnews.com
