By Sarah Anne Hughes and Benjamin R. Freed
The Metropolitan Police Department has confirmed that it has recovered the body of Michael Kingsbury, a seven-year-old boy who was reported missing Sunday morning, from a car in an alley not far from his family’s home on the 1700 block of West Virginia Avenue NE. Kingsbury, who was diagnosed with a condition on the autism spectrum, was found Monday evening after a search that police say included alleys, abandoned buildings, and security cameras mounted in the vicinity.
Authorities have not yet determined the cause of death. Police do not know when the boy entered the car or if the car had been searched previously to the discovery of Kingsbury’s body.
Police and residents of the Trinidad neighborhood searched the area for much of Monday, though some residents attending an MPD news conference confirming the recovery of Michael’s body charged that police did not distribute enough fliers and other information that could have aided the effort. Assistant Police Chief Peter Newsham, who oversees MPD’s investigative units, said such claims were “inconsistent” and that it was “too early to say someone missed something.”
Councilmember Kenyan McDuffie (D-Ward 5) also declined to speculate about police response to the boy’s disappearance, instead saying he would make sure the family has the support it needs.
“When you have a very unfortunate situation like this, emotions tend to flare,” McDuffie said. “But I’m more concerned about Ms. Kingsbury and the family, specifically how they’re going to get through this very trying time.”
Original post follows:
The search for a seven-year-old boy who was reported missing Sunday morning from his family’s home in the Trinidad neighborhood of Northeast D.C. appears to have ended tragically. NBC4 reports that police have found a body in a car parked in an alley off the 1700 block of West Virginia Avenue NE and believe it is that of Michael Kingsbury, who was last seen yesterday between 9 and 9:30 a.m. walking in an alley close to his home.
Michael, who is diagnosed with a condition on the autism spectrum, was last seen wearing a Pull-Up diaper. Metropolitan Police Department Capt. Lewis Douglas, who leads the agency’s Youth Investigations Division, told reporters earlier Monday that officers were searching alleys and abandoned buildings in the vicinity, as well as inspecting security camera footage from nearby Gaullaudet University.
Police have cordoned off West Virginia Avenue between 16th Street and Mount Olivet Road NE. DCist’s Sarah Anne Hughes is at the scene, where nothing has yet been confirmed.
