Finding Robert Manwill: Boise Police Launch Massive Search for Missing Boy
Robert Manwill, 8, vanished a week ago; Family has history of violence.
July 31, 2009— -- Investigators searching for little Robert Manwill, an 8-year-old boy with an impish grin, said today they fear he may have been the "victim of a tragic event."
"Investigators from the Boise Police Department, with assistance from the FBI have located evidence that may bring us closer to finding what happened to Robert," said Boise's Deputy Chief Jim Kerns.
Kerns said the evidence was discovered in a search Thursday night of the boy's mother, Melissa Scott Jenkins.
"The evidence we've uncovered shows there are suspicious circumstances regarding Robert's disappearance," said Kerns. "Robert may be injured."
The boy's mother is divorced from his father, Charles Manwill. The father has custody of boy who was on an overnight visit to his mother.
Pictures of the little boy with the mischievious grin have been plastered all over the city. Volunteers have mobilized by the hundreds.
Yet there is, so far, no sign of Robert Manwill.
The July 24 disappearance of the 8-year-old has touched off what police say is among the largest searches in the city's history. Everyone is being scrutinized, they said, including the boy's own family, which has a seemingly violent history.
His parents haven't said much of anything to the public. Jenkins has two other children and lives with a boyfriend.
Court documents show that Jenkins and her boyfriend Daniel Ehrlick were taken to court by the state for child support relating to an unnamed child in foster care.
Jenkins is on probation after being charged with felony injury to a child, a charge the Idaho Statesman reported came after she fractured the skull of Robert's infant half-brother who was removed by the state.
The paper also reported this week that Ehrlick has served time in prison and been convicted of battery and burglary. According to the Statesman, Ehrlick is banned from spending time alone with Robert's half-sister.
Police have kept mum so far on the family's legal troubles and their involvement with the search for Robert.
"The previous family history and the connection to Robert's case, if any, is ... part of the investigation," Boise Police spokeswoman Lynn Hightower told ABCNews.com.
Robert's aunt, Trisha Burrill has been acting as the family's spokeswoman. She told ABC's Boise affiliate KIVI that the family's troubled history should not be a focus for police or the media.
"We do not know why people think any of this matters," she said. "We are asking everyone to stay focused on our target on hand and that's to bring Robert home."
KIVI reported today that Boise police spent hours at Jenkins' home Thursday, towing the family's car and leaving with bags of evidence.
Robert was reported missing from his Boise Bench apartment complex shortly after 10 p.m. July 24. He was last seen wearing a faded blue T-shirt with a Superman design, blue jeans and dark tennis shoes.
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