Body Found in Hunt for Missing Boy

Aug. 3, 2009— -- A body pulled from a canal south of Boise, Idaho, today matches the description of little Robert Manwill, the 8-year-old boy with an impish grin who disappeared July 24, police said.

Boise Police Department Deputy Chief Jim Kerns said they will not have a positive identification until an autopsy is performed Tuesday, but confirmed the body matches the size and age of Robert.

Someone walking by the New York Canal in Kuna, in Ada County, saw the body of a boy floating in the water and called police, Kerns said. One of the first officers on the scene jumped into the water and pulled out the body, he said.

"Robert's family, who has been incredibly strong throughout this entire ordeal, has been notified that a body has been found," Kerns said, adding that the boy's family has requested privacy.

"A missing child is every family's nightmare," Kerns said.

The discovery of the body comes after days of intense searching for the boy. Several police agencies spent the weekend digging up the backyard of a home in Ada County that police told ABC News affiliate KIVI-TV in Boise is rented by people who know the boyfriend of Robert's mother.

Police declined to say what was found to lead them to the backyard, saying only that they were following multiple leads and searching multiple locations looking for the boy.

On Friday, police said they feared Robert may have been the "victim of a tragic event" but said that with the help of the FBI they had found evidence they hoped would bring them closer to finding out what happened to the boy.

Kerns said that evidence was discovered in a search Thursday night of the home of the boy's mother, Melissa Scott Jenkins.

"The evidence we've uncovered shows there are suspicious circumstances regarding Robert's disappearance," Kerns said. "Robert may be injured."

Jenkins is divorced from Robert's father, Charles Manwill. The father has custody of the boy, who was on an overnight visit to his mother when he disappeared.