The possible remains of an 18-month-old boy who has been missing since July of 2011, have been found at the home of his two parents, authorities say.
The parents, Brittney Sierra, 21, and Calvin Melvin Jr., 27, were arrested on child neglect charges.
According to Hallandale Beach Chief of Police Dwayne Fluornoy, the two parents are blaming each other for the child's disappearance, both accusing the other of harming the child in some way.
The boy, Dontrell Melvin, had not been reported missing. And his disappearance wasn't discovered until a routine check by a child welfare investigator on Wednesday.
When an investigator asked Melvin where the baby was, he told them that he had taken the boy to live with his grandparents in Pompano Beach 18 months ago. But when the story was followed up on, the grandparents had no idea what the investigator was talking about.
Upon returning to Hallandale Beach to question Melvin further, the investigator couldn't find him anywhere. When he was found a day later, Melvin's story had changed. He told investigators that he had dropped off his son at a Miami Gardens fire station as part of the Safe Haven program.
But, according to authorities, Melvin eventually changed that story too.
Sierra gave cops a similar story, telling them that she had left the baby with her parents, who don't live in Florida.
But police don't buy her story either.
Sierra gave birth to another son, fathered by Melvin, since the disappearance of Dontrell.
Authorities have not yet determined if the remains found buried in the backyard of the couple's home are human or animal. Officals from the Medical Examiner's Office are looking to determine that.
Chief Fluornoy is asking anyone with information on this case to call the Police Department at 954-457-1400 or Broward Crime Stoppers at 954-493-8477.
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