Police: Body identified as missing Kan. boy; stepmom held on $250K Bond

4p.m.

WICHITA —The Sedgwick County Coroner’s Office has identified the body of an unknown child discovered Thursday evening in Harvey County as 5-year-old Lucas Hernandez.

According to a media release, the boy’s identity was confirmed through an autopsy and dental records. A thorough exam of evidence continues, according to officer Charley Davidson.

Lucas’ stepmother, 27-year-old Emily Glass, has been arrested and booked into Sedgwick County jail for felony obstruction of justice. She is being held on a $250,000 Bond, according to t<a href=”https://ssc.sedgwickcounty.org/sheriffinmates/SheriffInmateDetail.aspx?nameId=214693″ target=”_blank” rel=”noopener”>he jail booking report.</a> Lucas has been missing since Feb. 17.

Lucas’ body was discovered under a bridge near Southeast 96th Street and Woodlawn in Harvey County. Glass had taken a private investigator to the location. The private investigator had been hired by Lucas’ family.

The private investigator called the WPD to report the discovery of what he believed was Lucas’ body. The WPD and Harvey County Sheriff Office officials arrived at the scene.

WPD officials have interviewed the private investigator, David Marshburn of North Carolina, who said he arrived earlier this week. Marshburn told WPD investigators that Glass led him to the boy’s body on Thursday.

WPD Chief Gordon Ramsay said the investigation into Lucas’ disappearance continues; anyone with information related to the case should call WPD Homicide Detectives at 268-4181.

The WPD has mobilized significant personnel and volunteers and searched thousands of acres to find Lucas. Ramsay thanked the numerous volunteers and groups who have contributed to the search.

In March, volunteers with from Missing and Endangered from Northwest Missouri searched Chisholm Park in Wichita for the boy, according to the organization’s social media page.

2p.m.

A small, decomposing body found under a bridge in rural central Kansas is likely that of 5-year-old Lucas Hernandez, a Wichita boy who has been missing since February, police said Friday.

An autopsy to be performed Friday will confirm the body’s identity but “it is likely Lucas,” Wichita police chief Gordon Ramsay said at a news conference.

Law enforcement officers were called to the scene in Harvey County Thursday night after Lucas’ 27-year-old stepmother, Emily Glass, led a private investigator to the remains under the bridge on a gravel road near the town of Sedgwick, about 20 miles north of Wichita.

Ramsay said there were other details that indicate the body is Lucas, but that police cannot share that information.

The investigator, David Marshburn, called police about the body, and officers met him and Glass at the scene. Ramsay said Marshburn was hired by Lucas’ family. Marshburn told local media that Lucas’ paternal grandmother first contacted him for assistance.

Marshburn told police he arrived in Wichita from Smithfield, North Carolina, this week.

Pressed as to how Marshburn was able to locate the body so quickly when police have been searching unsuccessfully for months, Ramsay would only say that police are bound by “very strict rules” that do not apply to private citizens.

Glass was jailed Thursday on suspicion of felony obstruction of justice, but no charges are expected to be filed this week. She is being held <a href=”https://ssc.sedgwickcounty.org/sheriffinmates/SheriffInmateDetail.aspx?nameId=214693″ target=”_blank” rel=”noopener”>on a $250, 000 Bond,</a> according to the Sedgwick County Booking report.

Investigators are awaiting results of the autopsy later Friday before they can make a positive identification.

Sedgwick County District Attorney Marc Bennett said in an emailed statement Friday that his office will review early next week the results of the autopsy currently being conducted, as well as evidence gathered by law enforcement throughout this investigation.
When asked if other arrests are possible, Ramsay said only that the investigation is still “very active.”

Glass reported Lucas missing from their home on Feb. 17. Glass told police she last saw Lucas playing in his bedroom before she took a shower and fell asleep. He was gone when she woke up from her nap. She has not been charged in the boy’s disappearance, but Bennett had previously said she is a person of interest in the case.

The boy’s father, Jonathan Hernandez, was not at home when Lucas disappeared. Glass cared for her daughter and Lucas while he worked out of state for weeks at a time. Lucas’ biological mother didn’t live in the Wichita area when he disappeared.

Glass was found not guilty in May in an unrelated case accusing her of child endangerment involving her own 1-year-old daughter. Prosecutors alleged she smoked marijuana before driving the child to a restaurant.

Lucas was reported missing the day after that trip.

A court document related to that case said Lucas was frequently seen with bruises and cuts before he disappeared. The Sedgwick County juvenile court document indicated the state of Kansas was told at least twice that Lucas was being abused and was living in a dysfunctional and violent situation.
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10:40 a.m.

Police say the stepmother of a 5-year-old boy missing since February led a private investigator to a body that detectives believe is the missing child.

Wichita Police Chief Gordon Ramsay said at a news conference Friday that Emily Glass showed David Mashburn where the remains were hidden, under a bridge on a gravel road in Sedgwick, about 20 miles north of Wichita.

Ramsay says Mashburn contacted police. Police retrieved the body and arrested Glass on Thursday.

Ramsay says police believe the body is that of Lucas Hernandez.

Glass is being held on suspicion of interfering with a law enforcement officer and obstruction.

The stepmother reported Lucas missing Feb. 17, saying she fell asleep after a shower and woke up to find him missing.

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10:30 a.m.

Police say a decomposed body found under a bridge in rural central Kansas is probably a 5-year-old boy who has been missing since February.

<a href=”http://thepost.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/Screen-Shot-2018-03-03-at-7.29.07-AM.png”><img class=”size-full wp-image-304196″ src=”http://thepost.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/Screen-Shot-2018-03-03-at-7.29.07-AM.png” alt=”” width=”196″ height=”222″ /></a> Lucas Hernandez

Wichita Police Chief Gordon Ramsay said at a news conference Friday that investigators believe the body found a day earlier on a county road about 20 miles north of Wichita, is Lucas Hernandez.

Emily Glass, Lucas’ stepmother, was arrested Thursday night on suspicion of interfering with a law enforcement officer and obstruction.

Glass reported Lucas missing Feb. 17, saying she fell asleep after a shower and woke up to find him missing. She has not been charged in his disappearance.

Glass was acquitted in May of a child endangerment charge after authorities say she smoked marijuana before driving with her 1-year-old daughter in the car.

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<a href=”http://thepost.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/Screen-Shot-2018-02-26-at-4.57.29-PM.png”><img class=”size-medium wp-image-305406″ src=”http://thepost.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/Screen-Shot-2018-02-26-at-4.57.29-PM-240×300.png” alt=”” width=”240″ height=”300″ /></a> Glass-photo Sedgwick Co.

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — The stepmother of a 5-year-old Wichita boy whom she reported missing in February was jailed Thursday evening, hours after a small, as-yet unidentified body was found under a bridge in a nearby county.

Emily Glass, the stepmother of Lucas Hernandez, was at a site in rural Harvey County hours before the body was found, Sedgwick County District Attorney Mark Bennett said. She was later booked into jail on suspicion of interfering with a law enforcement officer and obstruction.

Authorities have not identified the body, which was found under a bridge on a gravel road near the town of Sedgwick.

“When we arrived, there was a body underneath a bridge up there that appears to be a small human, but it’s unrecognizable,” Harvey County Sheriff Chad Gay said. No children have been reported missing in Harvey County, he said.

Lucas was reported missing the day after that trip.

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SEDGWICK COUNTY — The stepmother of 5-year-old Lucas Hernandez who has been missing since February is back in jail.

Just after 10:30p.m. Thursday Emily Glass was booked into jail, according to <a href=”https://ssc.sedgwickcounty.org/sheriffinmates/SheriffInmateDetail.aspx?nameId=214693″ target=”_blank” rel=”noopener”>the Sedgwick County booking report</a>. The requested charges included interference with law enforcement officer and obstruction. There was no bond listed, according to the booking details.

Law enforcement authorities have not confirmed that a body found in Harvey County Thursday is the missing boy.

The body was found under a bridge on a gravel road. Sedgwick County District Attorney Mark Bennett says Glass had been in the area hours earlier. Authorities have not released any information on the remains.

Glass reported Lucas missing from their home on Feb. 17. She told police she discovered he was missing after she woke up from a nap.

The boy’s father, Jonathan Hernandez, was not at home when his son disappeared.

On May 16, Glass was released from jail after she was found not guilty of child endangerment in an unrelated case involving her own daughter.