Authorities Take Drastic Step of Releasing Photograph of the Body of Boy Known as ‘Little Jacob’
January 31, 2018The FBI and Galveston Police have released a close-up photograph of the face of the little boy whose body washed ashore in Galveston, Texas, in October.
The move is all but unheard of as the photograph authorities have shared of the boy known as “Little Jacob” tragically is of his dead body. Little Jacob is believed to be between the ages of 3 and 5, with big brown eyes and dark hair.
WARNING: The photograph is of a deceased child, the content is graphic and disturbing
The photograph can be seen here.
Authorities explained their decision to release the disturbing photo in a statement Tuesday.
“In an effort to exhaust all possible routes to identify “Little Jacob”, the Galveston Police Department is now releasing a photograph of the boy in hopes that someone seeing the true likeness of the child will confirm their suspicions that they know who this is and that they can help us identify him and the circumstances surrounding his death.
“We continue to believe that someone out there knows this child. Someone has seen him. This child deserves to be identified and properly laid to rest but for this to happen, input from the public is crucial.”
A composite sketch of "Little Jacob"
Galveston Police Department/Facebook
Since Little Jacob’s body washed ashore in Texas on Oct. 20 no one has come forward to claim him as their own. Investigators have been working nonstop to identify the child, whose naked body was found by pedestrians on an early evening stroll on the beach.
Police have received “hundreds and hundreds” of tips after releasing a composite sketch of him in October, but have yet to identify him or find out how he died.
Authorities said Tuesday that they believe Little Jacob, as local police nicknamed him, died around October 17 or 18 and had been in the water 12-48 hours prior to being found.
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He did not, as many had believed, drown but was dead prior to being put in the water somewhere in the local area.
“Little Jacob showed signs of neglect and injuries consistent with abuse; however, none of the injuries appeared to have been fatal,” Galveston Police said on Facebook Tuesday.
“Based on reverse drift analyses conducted by the US Coast Guard and the National Weather Service, it is believed that Little Jacob’s body was put into the water locally, in the Galveston County area.”
While his cause of death still is not clear, his death is being treated as a homicide.
Galveston police and the FBI is offering up to $10,000 for information about the boy in November until they can positively identify him.
Anyone with information concerning this case or the identity of this child is asked to call 1-800-CALL-FBI or 1-800-225-5324.