Teen girl arrested in death of 7yearold
Body found “intentionally concealed” inside boy’s home
Denver police took a 16yearold girl into custody in connection with the death of 7yearold Jordan Vong after finding the boy’s body hidden in his family’s Montbello home Tuesday night.
Officers had twice previously searched Jordan’s family home on the 4900 block of Fairplay Street in Montbello after he was reported missing around 4:30 p.m. Monday. Officers had hoped Jordan was hiding somewhere in the house, said Denver Police Department Division Chief Joe Montoya.
“Generally, in these types of cases, we hope the child is hiding or playing a game,” Montoya said.
But Tuesday night, after more than 24 hours of searching that also involved the FBI, Denver police asked a judge for a search warrant. They started a deep search of the family’s home at 8:20 p.m., and after 30 minutes, found the boy’s body “intentionally concealed,” Montoya said.
Montoya declined to say where in the house the body was discovered or how long police suspected the boy had been dead. No cause of death has been reported.
Montoya also would not say what the relationship was between the boy and the 16yearold girl.
“The family was concerned and they were cooperative, but I can’t expand on
the level of cooperation,” Montoya said.
Because the suspect is a juvenile, police can’t release her name. She has not been charged with a crime. The Denver District Attorney’s Office is reviewing the case, and prosecutors have the option to charge her as an adult or they could first file charges in juvenile court and then later ask for the case to be transferred to an adult court.
On a GoFundMe page, a woman who identified herself as a family member described Jordan as sweet and silly and dreamed of becoming a cowboy or soldier, the web page said.
“He was filled with so much joy and brightened up any room with his contagious smile,” the woman wrote. “It is with a heavy heart that we have to lay him to rest so soon, but we want to thank everyone for all of your help and support. “
Neighbors described the family as quiet, with many children and teenagers living inside the home. The family had moved there about two years ago, neighbors said. Montoya would not provide details on how many people, including children, lived at the house.
Dozens of police officers were in and out of Jordan’s home Tuesday night, and about 10 remained on scene well into Wednesday morning, neighbors said. A red car in the garage had its trunk lining ripped out.
Pedro Holguin, an acrossthe-street neighbor, said he saw police take out what appeared to be a body bag on a stretcher around 11 a.m. Wednesday. The stretcher was put inside an unmarked black vehicle, Holguin said.
Holguin told The Denver Post in Spanish that Jordan’s mother knocked on his door Tuesday morning and asked if he had seen her son, which saddened him.
The family called police to report the missing boy at 4:30 p.m. Monday. Officers, who arrived on scene 15 minutes later, were told that he had last been seen at 2:40 p.m., Montoya said.
Police conducted two searches of the house to look for the boy before launching a a more intensive search.
The department issued a Reverse 911 call that reached about 600 residences in a 1-mile radius, Montoya said. The department pushed social media alerts and notified local media to spread the word that Jordan was missing.
The police department’s helicopter was deployed to scout open spaces and ponds, and a foot search of a 20-block grid was conducted with police knocking on doors and checking cars as they left the neighborhood. The FBI’s Safe Streets Task Force also joined the operation, Montoya said.
The department consulted with the Colorado Bureau of Investigation about issuing an Amber Alert, but there was no immediate evidence of an abduction, Montoya said. Instead, an alert was sent to other law enforcement agencies so they could be on the lookout for Jordan.
But Montoya would not say what led police to seek a search warrant after more than 24 hours of looking for the boy.
“Once this case came to the sad conclusion that it did, the emotional drain was very intense,” Montoya said. “I felt it, and I know the investigators felt it too.”
On Wednesday night more than 200 people, including many children with parents, gathered at Greenwood Academy, where Jordan went to school as a first-grader last year.
Candles were handed out to those attending, as well as tissues for those who were in need.
“We will miss his smile,” principal Rachel Payne told the crowd. “He smiled all the time, even when he was in trouble.”
Desirea Chamberlin, Jordan’s first-grade teacher, said her student had an infectious giggle. He was a charmer who picked Chamberlin dandelions and a show-off who dropped and did one-handed push-ups, she said.
“Every time he looked at me with those big brown eyes, I could feel the corners of my mouth going up into a smile,” Chamberlin said.
Another staff member described Jordan as a “joyful spirit.”
Susan Young, a neighborhood resident who didn’t know Jordan, spoke to the crowd, thanking everyone for coming to express love and support for the boy’s family.
“He was a child, an innocent child,” Young said.
Jordan’s mother, wearing a hood and dark glasses, spoke briefly in a hushed tone.
She told the crowd she found comfort in all the faces gathered to honor and celebrate her boy. After a brief moment, she wept, turned to a supporter and embraced in a hug.
A fenced-off garden at the school became a memorial spot where people left placards, cards, photos, balloons, flowers and stuffed animals.
“He was always happy,” Payne said. “That is how I’m going to remember him.”