CHATHAM COUNTY, Ga. (WSAV) — Wednesday marked one month since 20-month-old Quinton Simon went missing. Police believe the little boy’s body is in a landfill.
The search for him is the most extensive in the history of the Chatham County Police Department (CCPD).
The case, which started as a report of a kidnapping is now a criminal investigation. Quinton’s mom Leilani, who called 9-1-1 to report her son missing, is the only person police have named as a suspect.
When WSAV was in Quinton’s neighborhood a month ago, the police and neighbors were still looking for Quinton. The story of his disappearance is much different than what police believe now.
On Oct. 5 at 9:42 a.m. Quinton was reported missing by Leilani.
The story that Leilani told police was that her boyfriend Daniel Youngkin went to work and Quinton was in a pack-n-play at 6 a.m.
Three and a half hours later, the door was open and Quinton was gone.
"We are working extremely hard to try to bring this to a resolution and find Quinton and bring him home safely," said CCPD Chief Jeff Hadley.
Leilani blamed Quinton’s biological father, Bubba Moss for Quinton’s disappearance. Moss lives 90 miles away, in Girard, Georgia. However, his name was listed as a suspect on the original police report.
But the police didn’t take long to decide that story was impossible.
While police searched the neighborhood for a little boy they believe wandered away, WSAV learned a lot about Quinton’s family.
His mother and her boyfriend were being evicted. His grandmother and her husband had custody of Quinton. Neither of them were home when Quinton disappeared.
Quinton’s mom was about to start having to pay child support for Quinton and his brother.
Then during week two of the search, it took a terrible turn.
Quinton’s body is believed to be in a Chatham County dump. There’s evidence, police say, that proves it. Their theory is the little boy was tossed in a dumpster, thrown out like trash and delivered to the landfill in a trash truck.
Once the search in the landfill started, police stopped with their regular updates.
WSAV kept looking for answers, this week knocking on the door of a Dunn, North Carolina address for boyfriend Daniel Youngkin. In the past, Daniel and Leilani were both arrested in that town.
However, no one has been charged with anything in Quinton's case.
The search for Quinton and his case involves over 100 people, police told WSAV. Leilani remains the only suspect, who we saw on Friday, sitting out in the front yard of the family’s home, face to face with the protestors calling for her to be arrested.
