Reward Issued for Wylie Boy's ID

A $20,000 reward is being offered for information leading to the identification of "Wylie's Angel."

The body of the 6-year-old boy was found near Lavon Lake last week. No one has come forward to claim the boy.

"We're calling him Wylie's Angel," Detective Venece Perepiczka said. "That seemed to be a term that was endeared to the community."

Schepp's Dairy and Crime Stoppers are both offering $10,000 rewards, bringing the total to $20,000.

Perepiczka said police are following up on more than 100 leads they have received.

"We're not certain that it's a local child yet, but we're definitely open to the idea that he may be from a different area," she said.

The First Baptist Church in Wylie held several special prayers for the child during Sunday services.

"We can't change the way that this young boy found his way to our community, be we can go a long way to honor his memory," said Kris Segrest, the church's pastor.

Segrest said his church will give the boy a proper burial if no one claims him.

The Collin County Child Abuse Task Force is following up on every lead received. It is asking that anyone with information about the child's identity to call 1-800-THE-LOST (1-800-843-5678).

Child's Body Found in Park

The young boy's body was found in a Wylie park Thursday morning by a landscaper mowing the grass near Lavon Lake.

The Collin County medical examiner said Friday that the boy is about 6 years old and had significant medical needs and was likely being fed through a feeding tube. The child had brown hair, brown eyes, was about 39 inches tall and weighed 28 pounds.

The boy was found at Eastfork Park in the 1900 block of Skyview Drive just after 9 a.m.  The Wylie Police Department is working with the Collin County Child Task Force to investigate the boy's death.

Police said they do not believe the boy is from a missing child case. Detectives made stops at area day cares, asking if any children had been absent in recent days or had dropped out.

"We're marking anything that could be anything," Perepiczka said. "There's little information that we have to go on right now."

Shawn Kellam, a Wylie father of four with a son who is about to turn 3, said the case troubled him.

"I can't get if off my mind, I really can't," he said. "I just keep thinking about my boys."

Kellam said he hopes someone will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law if the case is an incident of foul play.

Perepiczka said the property where the body was found Thursday is owned by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

The boy's cause of death has not been determined because his medical history is unknown.

NBC DFW's Ellen Goldberg and Randy McIlwain contributed to this report.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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