Off Topic: Boy Found DEAD Wylie Tx *NEED HELP*

Someone knows this little boy with the soulful brown eyes.

Someone knows how he ended up alone, his underweight body dumped near a stagnant pond.

Someone knows answers to the many questions being asked after the body's discovery Thursday morning by a mowing crew in Collin County.

Autopsy results have not been released, but police in Wylie say there were no obvious injuries.

They now believe the boy was about 6. Earlier they had estimated he was half that age because he weighed just 28 pounds. Normal weight for a 6-year-old is closer to 50.

He probably had "significant medical needs" and showed signs of having had a feeding tube, Wylie police Detective Venece Perepiczka said.

To learn his identity, the Wylie Police Department and the Collin County Child Abuse Task Force have enlisted the help of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. The center's forensic artists created an image of the boy based on police photos. It's being distributed across the country.

Child may have had special needs

Map: East Fork Park, Wylie

Blog: Crime

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"Someone out there knows who this child is," said Robert Lowery, executive director of the center's missing children division.

The medical staffers who surgically inserted the feeding tube might recognize him. Or the doctor or nurse who was monitoring his health. Given his age, he may have been enrolled in school. Maybe his family had contact with social services workers.

It's too early to say what might have happened. But those involved in caring for children with chronic health problems say the few details released suggest that the boy needed round-the-clock care. And they say his caregiver probably was under a lot of stress.

"It's next to impossible to care for children with substantial medical needs if you don't have support," said Richard Robison, executive director of the Massachusetts-based Federation for Children with Special Needs.

That support can be hard to come by, and statistics show that a majority of couples with special-needs children end up divorcing, according to Patsy Arnold, founder of a Tarrant County nonprofit called Texas' Special Kids.

"There's an 80 percent chance this was a single parent with little to no support," she said. "A lot of responsibility and stress comes with raising a child who's that medically fragile."

The boy's body was found on a quiet gravel turnoff just south of Lavon Lake. Bottles, yard trimmings and broken tiles pepper the lot. Nearby is a dingy green pond that sometimes draws anglers.

By Friday, passers-by had placed a few tokens in the boy's memory next to a rusty railing: a bouquet of daisies, a stuffed bear wearing a cross that said "Truth," and a card addressed to "Wylie Baby Boy."

A few miles away on Ballard Avenue, Wylie's main drag, traffic streamed by as usual. Signs touted this weekend's Taste of Wylie and an upcoming charity run.

Beth Hoffard, who owns a sweet-smelling candle shop called The Ole Back Porch, knew something had gone wrong late Thursday. A friend spotted a television news truck, and traffic was heavier than usual.

"It's just so sad. In fact, it makes you sick, really," said Hoffard, 55. "I really hope they find out what happened and who did this."

Others echoed her feelings at the Ballard Street Café & Grill, a local favorite known for its giant slices of chocolate pie.

Brandy Brown, a 29-year-old café worker who has lived in the area her whole life, said she felt awful, even fearful.

"You can be in the smallest of towns," she said, "and the biggest of crimes happen."

Such reactions are understandable, said Dawn Davis, a senior case manager with the Texas-based Laura Recovery Center for Missing Children.

"The community wants to be the person in this boy's life that cares for him, that worries for him, because the adult in his life didn't do that," she said. "This child was thrown away without regard, and that's shocking."

Davis said investigators have a challenge on their hands. The best thing they can do is get the boy's photo distributed as widely as possible.

She said that was the key to determining the identity of Baby Grace, a 2-year-old whose body was found in a box in Galveston Bay in October 2007.

Sheryl Sawyers, who lives in Ohio, saw a composite sketch on the Internet and recognized her granddaughter, Riley Ann Sawyers.

The toddler's mother and stepfather were sentenced to life in prison for her murder.

The Wylie case is less than 48 hours old this morning. But for Pam Cude, an investigator with a Houston nonprofit called Child Search, that's too long.

"It's really unnerving to know that someone has not come forward," she said. "I can't imagine being desperate enough to lay a child on the side of the road."

Anyone with information about the boy's identity can call 1-800-THE-LOST (1-800-843-5678). The hotline is operated by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Callers can remain anonymous.