NEW PEKIN, Ind. — Saturday a mushroom hunter in the small town of southern Indiana’s New Pekin found a suitcase with the body of a young boy inside it. 

What You Need To Know

  • The body of a boy was found inside a suitcase in a wooded area in Washington County, Indiana

  • The boy is believed to be between the ages of 5 and 8

  • The boy has not been identified

  • Investigators hope the public will provide tips that will lead to answers

“This is definitely different, unfortunately, and tragic,” says Indiana State Police Sergeant Carey Huls. 

The boy was found in a wooded area of Washington County inside of a suitcase with a Las Vegas design on both sides. (Spectrum News 1/Ashley N. Brown)

Huls says the top focus of the investigation is identifying the boy. ISP describes the body as a Black boy between the ages of 5 and 8.  

“Why isn’t somebody who’s responsible for him because he’s only around five years of age? Somebody had to be taking care of him. Why hasn’t somebody stepped forward and said, ‘Oh, I believe it could be this child,’” says Huls? “That puts up a giant red flag.”

Hul says investigators are taking every avenue possible to identify the boy, but those techniques take time. 

He’s hoping the picture of the Las Vegas-themed suitcase the boy was found in will spark someone’s memory and lead to answers.  

“He needs a voice and we want justice for him. He can’t speak for himself, so we want to be his voice, but we can’t do that until we find out who he was,” says Huls. 

Hul says ISP has received hundreds of tips from across the nation but very little new information. 

Most tips have been about children who have already been reported missing and looked into.

None have been a match.

“We want to hear anything so if anybody has any information like, ‘Hey, I saw this or I know this family’ and it’s probably nothing but things aren’t adding up here and this could possibly be a lead for us to identify this young man,” says Huls. 

Hul says an autopsy has been done but is not complete. A cause of death has not been determined, but Huls says once it has the direction of the investigation could change drastically. 

“As a father, it hits home and you think about what could be and what should be and it makes you pause and makes you want to go home and hug your own kids,” says Huls. 

ISP is leading the investigation with help from other agencies, including the FBI. 

If you have any information about the case, contact the designated national hotline for the investigation at 1-888-437-6432.