Missing 20-Month-Old Baby Update: Human Remains Found During Search For James Chairez

Investigators in Texas found human remains inside a mobile home park during the search for a 20-month-old baby.

The baby, James Chairez, was reported missing on Jan. 4. The San Antonio Police Department confirmed Wednesday the remains were found where James lived with his mother. It was listed as the last known address of the baby’s 20-year-old mother, D’Lanny Chairez, media outlet KSAT reported.

Detectives had arrived at the mobile home in W. Military Drive and conducted a search, apart from removing a crib from the scene Wednesday. According to media reports, this was not the first time the police searched the home. However, it remains unclear what brought them back to the mobile home on Wednesday.

"We are here in reference to the Baby James case," San Antonio Police Chief William McManus said, according to CBS-affiliated Kens5. "I can’t answer any questions or tell you why we are here, but it does have to do with the case."

On Wednesday, the police said they sent the human remains found in the mobile home to the medical examiner to confirm the identity of the body and determine the cause of death.

James’ great-great-uncle Patrick McColley told KSAT: “I can’t understand it why the police, if they found the blood in the trailer there, then why they didn’t start looking right away? You know, I think that was shabby work.”

On Jan. 4, the police had launched a search for the baby and his mother. They released surveillance images of the pair along with video clips from a drug store. A surveillance video from onboard a VIA Metropolitan Transit bus was also obtained by the police. In the store video, D’Lanny was seen pushing a stroller, but there was no sign of the baby in the bus video.

Eventually, the police tracked the mother down, but the baby was not with her. While the search for the baby continued, the authorities arrested and charged D’Lanny in March on suspicion of abandoning or endangering a child. She was indicted by a grand jury last week on charges of tampering with evidence, a third-degree felony.

After the arrest, D’Lanny told investigators that she was not ready to be a mother and thought her son “deserved better.” She was also considering putting him up for adoption, the arrest affidavit read, according to KSAT.