MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN: A 5-year-old boy, identified as Prince McCree, who was reported missing on Wednesday, was found dead in a dumpster on Thursday, October 26, sparking a homicide investigation by the Milwaukee police.
Reportedly, two “persons of interest," a 27-year-old man and a 15-year-old teen, have been taken into custody in connection with the case, as reported by Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
How did Prince McCree go missing?
The five-year-old Prince McCree was last seen alive at his home on Wednesday morning, according to police and neighbors.
His body was found just before 9:00 am on Thursday, about a mile on West Vliet Street. The cause of death, according to police, is under investigation. It was not known yet why Prince went missing.
However, a neighbor named Riley and a member of the area’s neighborhood block watch said Prince was seen playing with other kids Wednesday morning, the report mentioned.
Who are the persons of interest arrested by the police?
State Sen LaTonya Johnson, a family neighbor, said Prince’s parents were knocking door-to-door in search of him into the night Wednesday.
She said the two persons of interest live in the same home, but she was unsure of their relation to the family.
“They were distraught,” Johnson said of the family. “It was a shock. This neighborhood is relatively quiet. You don’t see a lot of police activity. We knew it was something serious.”
Johnson said the family includes two parents and three children. She had little contact with them before Wednesday but said she had seen them walk to a corner store on occasion. “They’ve always been respectful,” she said. “They’re quiet.”
How has the community reacted to Prince’s death?
The city would be traumatized by Prince’s death, Michael Murphy, who represents the neighborhood, told the publication.
“It’s a terrible tragedy for the whole community to see another child so senselessly lose their life and then to be discarded in the manner in which they found the child,” he said.
Police had issued a “critically missing” alert about Prince at about 8:30 pm on Wednesday.
These are the alerts, according to Milwaukee police, that are sent to the media outlets notifying that persons 11 years or younger are in danger.
The police did not issue an Amber alert because, according to Johnson, the law enforcement did not have enough information about a suspect or a suspect vehicle.
"It’s sad for the family,” Johnson said. “He’s a 5-year-old baby. They’re struggling.”
