Body found in state park confirmed to be that of New Hampshire boy who went missing over a month ago
By Sahar Akbarzai, Artemis Moshtaghian and Kiely Westhoff, CNN
Human remains found in a Massachusetts state park are those of a 5-year-old New Hampshire boy who’d been missing more than a month, according to a news release by the Attorney General’s office in New Hampshire.
Dr. Richard Atkison, the Massachusetts chief medical examiner, “was able to positively identify the remains as Elijah Lewis using dental records,” the release states.
State police found Elijah’s remains Saturday morning in Ames Nowell State Park in Abington, Massachusetts, about 20 miles southeast of Boston. His body was discovered in what investigators referred to as a grave, the attorney general’s office said.
A further investigation is required to determine the cause and manner of death through toxicology testing, the release said, and “it is likely that it will be a few months.”
New Hampshire Senior Assistant Attorney General Susan Morrell told CNN affiliate WMUR last week investigators believe they narrowed down the time frame Elijah went missing back to September 1.
Merrimack Police began an investigation into Elijah’s disappearance October 14, according to a statement from the New Hampshire Attorney General’s Office. He was never reported missing to authorities prior to that time, the statement read.
Elijah’s mother, Danielle Dauphinais, 35, and her boyfriend, Joseph Stapf, 30, were arrested on charges of child endangerment and witness tampering three days later on October 17, according to the attorney general.
Witness tampering charges against Dauphinais and Stapf stem from evidence showing the pair allegedly asked people to lie about Elijah’s whereabouts and where he was living, knowing child protection services were searching for the boy, the AG’s statement reads.
CNN has reached out to Dauphinais and Stapf for comment, and contacted the New Hampshire Attorney General’s office to determine if they have retained legal representation.
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CNN’s Laura James contributed to this report.
