DAYTON — The Dayton community is mourning a 7-year-old boy who was found dead just hours after he was reported missing.
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As reported on News Center 7 Daybreak, 7-year-old Hershall Creachbaum had autism and was nonverbal, and police found his remains just hours after family reported him missing over the weekend.
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Dozens of people gathered together to hold a vigil for Creachbaum, including his biological father, Hershall Creachbaum Sr., who told News Center 7 he found out what happened through Facebook.
“He had an extra ventricle in his heart that went straight to his brain. He had cerebral palsy, he was autistic, he had clubbed feet coming out, I mean, all of these health issues, you know what I mean, but he was still so happy in person,” Creachbaum Sr. said.
Creachbaum was reported missing around 3:30 a.m. Saturday morning on Xenia Ave, according to a previous News Center 7 report.
Just hours later on Saturday evening, police found his remains just a half mile from where he was reported missing.
On Monday, Dayton Police confirmed that Creachbaum may have been missing for much longer than that.
His mother advised police that his death took place sometime in late May.
Police took Creachbaum’s biological mother, 36-year-old Ashley N. Johnson, and her boyfriend, 38-year-old Michael Kendrick, into custody.
Both are in jail facing charges in relation to Creachbaum’s death.
Dayton police also confirmed to News Center 7 that child services had been involved, but the case was not open the day of Creachbaum’s death.
News Center 7 will continue to follow this story.
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