HILTON HEAD, S.C. _ Authorities in Texas are asking the public to share a sketch of a young child whose 30-pound body was found Friday in a case that police are calling "extremely unusual."
Galveston police found the body of a 3- to 5-year-old boy in the sand close to the surf around 5:30 p.m. Friday, according to a press release.
The Galveston Police Department, along with the U.S. Coast Guard, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection and Child Protective Services, found no matches in their databases for any reported missing children matching the child's description as of Sunday evening, police said in the press release.
"We don't have bodies wash up on our beaches without a story behind them," Capt. Joshua Schirard said in a news conference Sunday. "That doesn't happen here. That's why we're working so hard on this case and figure out how and why this happened."
Police have ruled the case a homicide until they can "unequivocally prove otherwise" and are waiting for autopsy results to determine his cause of death, Galveston Police said in a press release.
"The circumstances surrounding this death grow more and more suspicious as time goes on," police said in a press release Sunday.
Schirard said the body was found naked with no major signs of trauma. He said it isn't unusual for authorities to find drowning victims naked as the tidal pull on Galveston beaches is strong enough to pull clothes off.
What makes the case unusual, Schirard said in a news conference, is that after a three-day search with multiple agencies, police haven't found anyone who recognizes or appears to be missing the young child.
"Someone, somewhere knows this child and can help us identify him," Schirard said.
The body was found about 20 to 30 feet from the tidal line, police say, and can't confirm whether or not it was placed there or washed up in the tide.
The Galveston Police Department released a detailed forensic sketch of the boy's face Sunday on Facebook and the post has been shared more than 21,000 times. People on Facebook are saying the case is "horrifying" and "heartbreaking."
"It's unbelievable that no one is missing him," one person wrote.
