The Virginia Beach community is reeling from the tragic discovery of a 12-year-old boy’s body in a local pond. Juan Sebastian Mejia Acevedo was reported missing by his parents last week, and his body was found on Monday. The parents had alerted the police on Friday evening, expressing concern that their son had not returned home after visiting a friend.
The situation took a dark turn when the parents received a ransom demand during a Facebook Live appeal they initiated on the night of their son’s disappearance. This development led the police to consider the possibility of an abduction, resulting in the issuance of an AMBER alert by state police the next morning.
The family complied with the ransom demand of $500, but there was no further communication from the supposed kidnappers. Virginia Beach Police Chief Paul Neudigate has suggested that the ransom demand might have been a fraudulent attempt to exploit the family’s distress.
Neudigate pointed out that this wouldn’t be the first instance of such a scam being perpetrated on a family in crisis. He also highlighted the difficulties faced by the police in tracing the recipient of the ransom money due to the involvement of out-of-state transactions, which require search warrants and subpoenas.
Acevedo’s body was discovered in a pond near the Cambria at Cornerstone apartments, located off South Independence Boulevard. This location is not far from the Mica Avenue address where his parents last saw him. The cause of Acevedo’s death is yet to be determined, and it remains unclear whether he was a victim of foul play.
The police are currently unable to confirm whether a homicide investigation will be opened or if the death will be ruled as accidental. Neudigate emphasized the need for confirmed facts before any information is released to the community. The boy’s body has been sent to the medical examiner to establish the cause of death.