A positive identification on the remains could take weeks to months, Mortvedt said. Our people are our strength, and our differences are celebrated. In Des Moines, tensions linger for 18-year-old Abdullahi Sharif's family and friends, who don't believe police did enough to find him after he went missing in January 2020. Harrelson lived with his mother in the Spruce Village trailer park in Montezuma, Iowa, a town of 1,300 people that is 70 miles east of Des Moines. "But again, on the heels of Mollie Tibbetts" he continued, before trailing off. Show Transcript. So far, no suspects or persons of interest have been named in Xavior's disappearance. It moves us into another stage of the investigation so in that sense we are moving forward, said Poweshiek County Sheriff Thomas Kriegel at the time. Copyright 2021 KCRG. Who is Julia Faustyna, the Polish woman who claims shes Madeleine McCann? Friends said Xavior acted as a caretaker for his mother, and described him as kind and caring with her. However, officials did notify Xavior's family of the discovery. Authorities said they had relayed the news to Xavior's mother. An investigation into the matter is ongoing. In fact, the boy's disappearance came as prosecutors delivered closing arguments in the first-degree murder case against Cristhian Bahena-Rivera, a farmhand who allegedly stabbed Tibbetts to death and dumped her body in a nearby cornfield. The boy's disappearance from Montezuma, a town of 1,300 people 70 miles east of Des Moines, had baffled investigators and saddened residents for months. Missing Washington state boy found 8 months later halfway across the country. 2021 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. Human remains discovered in Iowa are confirmed to be those of missing 11-year-old Xavior Harrelson, law enforcement officials announced on Friday. The remains were found in a grassy area of a combined field, and the state medical examiner determined them to be human and likely those of an adolescent, according to Mitch Mortvedt, assistant director of Iowa's Division of Criminal Investigation. About 100 law enforcement officials arrived in Montezuma Saturday, and the search for missing 10-year-old Xavior The remains of an adolescent were discovered by a farmer in rural Iowa Thursday, along with clothes that matched what a boy who lived in the region was last seen wearing before he vanished in May, authorities said. Reach him atncoltrain@registermedia.com or at 515-284-8361. His family has been contacted about the development, Poweshiek County Sheriff Thomas Kriegel told reporters. His mother said she has no idea what happened to him. The Poweshiek County Sheriffs Office received on Sept. 30 a report from a farmer that human remains were discovered in a field south of the intersection of Ewart Road at 110th Street. A backpack and cellphone belonging to missing 22-year-old German tourist Nick Frischke have been recovered in Cape Town. State investigators have released very few details about his death. Xavior Harrelson was last seen the morning of May 27, days before his 11th birthday, when he left his home in Montezuma to go on a bike ride, authorities said. Authorities have charged a suspect with first degree murder, whom they say was in the country illegally. Xavior lived with his mother, Sarah Harrelson, in the Spruce Village trailer park. He said authorities weren't ready to identify the body as that of Xavior, adding that the state medical examiner and anthropologist have "a lot of work left ahead of them in the days and weeks, even, to come.". Officials initially believed it was headed toward Clinton or Davenport and believe the abduction took place at around 3:30 p.m. on Tuesday afternoon. MONTEZUMA, Iowa (KCRG) - Officials confirmed the human remains found in rural Poweshiek County late last month are those of Xavior Harrelson, the 10-year-old boy who disappeared from Montezuma, Iowa on May 27. A missing 5-month-old boy was found safe in the car he was apparently stolen in, police said Thursday, after three days. MONTEZUMA, Iowa (KCRG) - Officials confirmed the human remains found in rural Poweshiek County late last month are those of Xavior Harrelson, the 10-year-old boy who disappeared from Montezuma, Iowa on May 27. His Just hoping that good news is brought and [he is] returned to us safe. More than 500 volunteers and responders searched for Xavior Harrelson over the holiday weekend, after the boy vanished near his Montezuma home while riding his bike on May 27, according to CBS News. Flying bug found at Walmart turns out to be rare Jurassic-era insect, Millions of Americans nearing retirement age with no savings, 20,000 people may have been exposed to measles at Asbury University revival, Iowa boy who vanished in May days before his 11th birthday, 2018 abduction and killing of 20-year-old Mollie Tibbetts. "Xavior is a happy kid who gets along well with his peers and wants to please his teachers," one of his teachers, Marie Boulton, said in June. Then on Sept. 30, a farmer discovered his remains in a field just outside Montezuma. Cristhian Bahena Rivera was convicted of her murder on Friday. Harrelson said she'd remained publicly quiet until then because of her heartbreak and anxiety. We've received your submission. Hundreds of people helped search areas around Montezuma in the days after Harrelson was reported missing. A farmer tending to his bean crop near 110th Street Hundreds of officers and volunteers have combed through fields and woods. The remains were discovered in a rural area about three miles from Montezuma on Sept. 30, KCRG reported. Law enforcement is asking anyone with information about Xavior's disappearance tocontact the Poweshiek County Sheriff's Office at (641) 623-5679 or the Missing Person Clearinghouse at 1-800-346-5507. A reward for information in the case has grown to $36,000. With offices in London, Rome, Madrid, Warsaw, Munich and Johannesburg, we are a truly international company that celebrates difference and diversity. Her body was found in a cornfield. To be right back here, you know, working out of the sheriffs office and in the same communities as we were almost three years ago when Molly disappeared, its frightening, Mortvedt reportedly said. Oct. 1, 2021, 4:40 AM PDT. Andrea Sahouri covers social justice for the Des Moines Register. A+E Networks EMEA is an amalgamation of A+E Networks UK, Germany, Italy, Poland, Nordics, Benelux, Spain and Africa. Xavior was last seen wearing a red T-shirt, blue pajama pants and black high-top shoes, according to the sheriff's office. Wilson Wong is a culture and trends reporter for NBC News Digital. The discovery prompted a heavy police presence near the town of about 1,500 people in Poweshiek County. Missing Iowa college student found dead, suspect in custody, SpaceX launches international crew to space station, At least 2 dead after exposure to unknown substance at N.Y. senior facility, Clark Atlanta University students mourn loss of athlete fatally shot near campus, Iranian government to investigate series of poisonings, Pennsylvania man accused of trying to bring explosive on plane, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle asked to leave Frogmore Cottage. //-->