Police in Virginia have confirmed that human remains found at a trash incinerator earlier this month belong to a 2-year-old boy who went missing.
Hampton police said in a brief statement on July 13 that DNA analysis has confirmed the remains are those of Noah Tomlin.
Noah’s mother, Julia Tomlin, has been charged with three counts of felony child neglect involving three children, including Noah. She reported Noah missing on June 24, prompting a massive search.
When the remains were found, the Hampton police chief declined to say how police believe they ended up there and who they think is responsible. The local prosecutor has also declined to discuss the case.
The body of Noah was believed to be found at a steam plant in Virginia, police said on July 3.
Police were searching the plant on July 3 before finding the remains of a child believed to be of Noah, Hampton Police Chief Terry Sult confirmed at a news conference on the same day, ABC News reported.
“The priority all along has been to find Noah,” Sult said, NBC News reported. “It’s with very mixed emotions that we report today that goal has been accomplished.”
Searchers in Virginia have found human remains they think belong to a 2-year-old boy who was reported missing more than a week ago, police said. https://t.co/Ginl229Xmm
— NBC News (@NBCNews) July 4, 2019
“Make no mistake: This has taken a toll on our community and our first responders,” Sult told reporters, CNN reported. “It will take time for all involved to recover and to heal.”
According to CNN, the steam plant where the body was found is where city waste goes to burn. The combustion creates steam that is sent to the NASA Langley Research Center, which uses the steam for power.
Police had suspected that the body of the boy was taken to the plant or a landfill, CNN reported.
The boy was last seen after he was put to bed at around 1 a.m. on June 24 at a mobile home in Hampton, said officials.
Julia Tomlin, the child’s mother, told police that she went to check on him at 11 a.m. that day but didn’t find him.
The mother then reported him missing at 11:36 a.m., prompting a search, according to ABC.
Sult said that officers were forced to wade through trash at a landfill for days in terrible conditions to find the boy.
“You’re dealing with conditions that are high humidity, high temperature. In this case, at the steam plant, they’re in a confined space,” Sult said, according to CNN.
Firefighters also had to monitor high methane and carbon levels at the landfill as the officers searched. The officers were called back when the levels rose too high.
“When you get into that and you smell the odors and you’re in the midst of everything, then you realize what you’re there for, and you’re going through literally millions of pounds of garbage,” Sult was quoted as saying by CNN. “It takes tolls.”
Julia Tomlin is facing felony child neglect charges in connection to the disappearance of her 2-year-old son, Noah. She appeared in court this morning for an arraignment, and 10 On Your Side was allowed to bring our camera in the courtroom.
Coverage: https://t.co/RUJ2GFerzN pic.twitter.com/Slhw8xMs2w
— WAVY TV 10 (@WAVY_News) July 1, 2019
The police chief didn’t elaborate on why officers searched a landfill or the steam plant.
The Associated Press and Epoch Times reporter Jack Phillips contributed to this report.
