Young Boy Stuffed in Suitcase in Indiana Woods Died of Dehydration, Not of Trauma

Indiana State Police Boy Found Dead Inside Suitcase Washington County woods Codi Bigsby Washington County Sheriff's Department

By Joel Brussels , Parent Herald May 30, 10:22 am

Photo: (Photo : Jon Cherry/Getty Images)

Indiana state police announced on Friday, May 27, that a young boy found dead inside a suitcase in rural woods last month died of dehydration and had no signs of trauma on his body. According to the autopsy report, the child - who has yet to be identified - died of an "electrolyte imbalance" likely caused by a stomach flu.

Police said the kid, believed to be about five years old, was clothed and clean when a mushroom hunter discovered him in the Washington County woods on April 16. No trauma was found on the boy's body, and a toxicology report returned negative.

Detectives believed the child was already dead when he was stuffed inside the hard-shell suitcase with a Las Vegas design on the front and back, according to the New York Post. Indiana police said the boy likely died less than a week before the suitcase was found.

Detectives have not been able to identify the young boy

According to cops, he was about four feet tall with a short haircut and a slim build. State police said that investigators continue to utilize various investigative techniques and have worked with several outside agencies in this investigation.

State police added that although numerous tips have been called into the nationwide tip line, detectives have not been able to identify the young child, with investigators not ruling out the possibility that the boy could be from out of state or out of the country.

According to a report by USA Today, Indiana State Police Sgt. Carey Huls bluntly said during a press conference that somebody knows something. Huls added that the child did not put himself in that suitcase; somebody did.

Huls said somebody out there has firsthand knowledge of what happened in the situation, and they need that person to come forward. According to Huls, the electrolyte imbalance was most likely caused by gastroenteritis, which in common layman's terms would be diarrhea and vomiting, resulting in the boy's dehydration.

Dead kid is not Virginia child Codi Bigsby

According to the Mayo Clinic, gastroenteritis can be caused by bacteria, parasites, viruses, or medication. The child, who is Black, was found dead in the woods of Southern Indiana, about 70 miles south of Indianapolis and 25 miles northwest of Louisville, Kentucky.

Huls said the dead boy had not matched any descriptions of kids on the national missing children's list. He added that the boy is not Codi Bigsby, a 4-year-old Virginia child who went missing on January 31.

The boy's funeral will be held next week in Salem, Indiana, with the burial planned by the Washington County Sheriff's Department. Todd Murphy, the sheriff's department's chaplain, said that this little boy was not respected in life, and they at Washington County, want to make sure he is respected in death. The child's funeral service will be at Weathers Funeral Home at 11 a.m. on Wednesday, June 1, followed by his burial at Crown Hill Cemetery.