Jaliek Rainwalker case reclassified as homicide, no longer missing persons case

Описание: CAMBRIDGE - Probable Child Homicide--that's how police are now classifying the investigation into the disappearance of 12-year old Jaliek Rainwalker. The boy was reported missing five years ago from Greenwich and Police say they no longer believe in the possibility that he just ran away, they say they are convinced foul play was involved.

It's a hard day, it's a sad day, we have always held out hope that Jaliek is alive and would be coming home to his family, says Dennis Smith, Jaliek's adoptive Grandfather. This is really hard, we want closure, we need closure, it's been 5 years and it's another holiday season and it makes it really hard, adds Barbra Reeley, Jaliek's adoptive grandmother.

Jaliek Rainwalker was last seen with his father, Steven Kerr on November 1, 2007, the next day he was reported missing. In the days following Jaliek's disappearance, Kerr spoke at a vigil held for the boy saying, I believe deep in my soul that my son is alive and safe, somewhere. A few weeks later, Kerr, his wife and their other adopted children moved to Vermont and stopped cooperating with police investigating Jaliek's case.

Investigators say there is no indication or evidence that Jaliek ran-away, they now believe he was killed. Cambridge-Greenwich Police stopped short of calling Kerr an official suspect but did say that they have reached out to the attorney hired to represent him to try and set up an interview. I'm hoping, that after 5 years, that they'll be able to come in and answer some questions, Chief George Bell says. Investigators have found the jacket that Jaliek was reported to have been wearing the day he disappeared but won't say when or where they located it. CBS6 has also learned that cadaver dogs were brought in to search a building in Troy on Tuesday. This is not a cold case, the leads have been coming in, we're at 500-someodd leads in this case, this is just something that came up recently that we felt needed to be further investigated, Bell says.

Smith and Reeley have been suspicious of their son-in-law since the day Jaliek was reported missing. If you did nothing wrong, if you have nothing to hide, why don't you cooperate with law enforcement to help find your son? Smith says. While the questions continue about what happened to Jaliek, his grandparents, who no longer have contact with their daughter, son-in-law, or other grandchildren, are hoping that someone will come forward with new information in the case. We drive by cemeteries and my heart breaks because there are markers for people, there's no marker for our grandson, we just want a marker we want to know where he is and what happened to him, Reeley says.

Anyone with any information they think might be helpful relating to Jaliek are asked to call the Cambridge-Greenwich Police Department at 518-692-9332.