LAS VEGAS (CBS SF) – Authorities have identified the body of a young child who was found a missing San Jose boy outside Las Vegas last month, and police are looking for the boy’s mother, whom investigators believe is she murdered him.
Las Vegas police said Monday that the body, which investigators named John “Little Zion” Doe, was seven-year-old Liam Husted.
Liam Husted (Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department)
Las Vegas Police worked with San Jose Police over the weekend to verify his identity, Lt. Raymond Spencer of the Metro Police at a press conference on Monday.
“We have invested a tremendous amount of resources in the past 10 days,” said Spencer. “We had detectives going through hundreds of leads to identify the victim … After looking at these photos, we decided that the missing person case they were working on in San Jose was very likely related to our murder investigation.” . “
Husted’s mother, Samantha Moreno Rodriguez, left San Jose with him on May 24 and was last seen at Laguna Beach on May 26, Spencer said.
“We can place them in the Laguna Beach area on the afternoon of May 26th,” Spencer said. “We know later that afternoon that the vehicle was in the Victorville, California area.”
A hiker found the boy’s body on State Route 160 near Mountain Springs, west of Las Vegas, on May 28. Investigators believe that his body was recently placed there and that he was murdered.
Investigators received a tip from a friend of the family, who had not seen Rodriguez or her son in a while, and who saw reports of a boy’s body found in the desert.
John “Little Zion” Doe was found on May 28, 2021 in the Nevada desert. (National Center for Missing & Exploited Children)
“The family friend said she hadn’t seen Samantha or Liam in over two weeks,” said Spencer. “She saw the coverage of our case here in Las Vegas and saw the composite sketch that was given to the media. After seeing that, she believed that the sketch looked like Liam. “
After discovering the boy’s body, investigators found that Rodriguez continued to travel in the same vehicle.
“Soon after, on May 29, we discovered the car was driving on I-70 near Grand Junction, Colorado,” said Spencer. “The last contact anyone saw from Samantha was in a Denver hotel room on May 31, when she was checking in by herself.”
#BREAKING: Police are looking for the boy’s mother, Samantha Moreno Rodriguez, for his murder. They think she’s in that car. # 8NN pic.twitter.com/rxpZHom9B2
– David Charns (@davidcharns) June 7, 2021
The police asked anyone with additional information about Rodriguez to report. Liam’s father was not a suspect of his murder.
“I’m telling you it’s a heartbreaking conversation,” Spencer said of his conversation with the boy’s father. “The last 10 days have been emotional for me, all of the investigators who have worked on it. And we’re just glad we can get Liam to a close and then hold the person responsible for this crime accountable. “
A nationwide arrest was issued for Rodriguez. Police are looking for their vehicle, a 2008 dark blue Dodge Caliber hatchback with California number plate 6WLH211.
Anyone with information is asked to call the department’s Mordtipp number at 702-828-3521.
