DCFS has long history with family of missing Crystal Lake 5-year-old, agency confirms as police raid boy's home
Police search for 5-year-old Andrew “AJ” Freund, who went missing from his family's Crystal Lake home on April 17, 2018.
(Stacey Wescott/Chicago Tribune)
Amanda Marrazzo, Robert McCoppinChicago Tribune
The whereabouts of a 5-year-old Crystal Lake boy remained unknown Friday, a day after he was reported missing, but police said their investigation was focusing on his home and that they don’t believe he was abducted.
Late Friday afternoon, a team of police in about seven vehicles pulled up to the house and went inside. At least one of them said, “Crystal Lake police. We got a search warrant.”
Some of them later emerged outside, but then returned into the house carrying unfolded boxes. Later in the evening, police could be seen leaving the home.In another development late Friday afternoon, the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services said it has had contact with the family of the boy, Andrew “AJ” Freund, since he was born in 2013 with opiates in his system. DCFS continued having contact off and on until late 2018, a spokesman said. A younger son was placed into DCFS custody, officials said.
Andrew was last seen at bedtime, about 9 p.m., on Wednesday in the family home in the first block of Dole Avenue in the northwest suburb. After waking up Thursday morning and being unable to find him in the home, Andrew’s parents reported the boy missing, police said.
After a daylong search on Thursday, police in a news release Friday said, “In reviewing all investigative information thus far, there is no indication that would lead police to believe that an abduction had taken place.” They also said: “Information obtained currently has police focusing on the residence.”
Canine teams that were used during the investigation “only picked up Andrew’s scent within the residence indicating that Andrew had not walked away on foot,” police said.
A neighbor who lives across the street said that the boy’s father, also named Andrew Freund, left the home through the back door about 2 p.m. Friday and began walking down Dole Avenue. While he was walking, he said, “Find my son … find my son,” according to the neighbor, Janelle Butler.
Butler said police approached him and tried to keep others away from him, but not before he made a plea to media members who were at the scene.
“AJ, please come home,” he said. “We love you very much. You’re not in any trouble. We’re just worried to death. Please, please come home.”
Five-year-old Andrew "AJ" Freund has been missing from his Crystal Lake home since Wednesday, April 17. While answering questions for the police, his mother Joann Cunningham felt she was being considered as a suspect, and called for a lawyer. Her attorney George Kililis answered questions for the Tribune outside the family's home today.
Later, the boy’s mother, JoAnn Cunningham, returned to the home. Her attorney, who was with her, told the Tribune she had been questioned by police Thursday.
The attorney, George Kililis, said he was contacted by a friend of Cunningham’s after the mother said she felt she was being considered a suspect. Kililis said she was cooperating fully with police.
Kililis said the mother is “depressed” and “sad.”
Her hope, Kililis said, “is at some point (Andrew) is going to walk through the door.”
“Our focus is on finding the child,” Kililis said. “She is devastated. She’s worried.
“She’s innocent of any wrongdoing. All she cares about is her little boy. That’s it.”
He said Cunningham is asking for the public’s “help and compassion.”
Kililis also said the mother is seven months pregnant.
DCFS, which has the job of protecting children from abuse, released the following statement Friday: “The department’s involvement with Andrew Freund began with his birth in 2013 and continued on and off through the end of 2018. The last contact between DCFS child protection staff and Andrew’s family was in December of 2018 while investigating allegations of abuse and neglect.”
DCFS released a timeline highlighting interactions between DCFS and Andrew’s family:
An undated photo of Andrew “AJ” Freund, who was last seen about 9 p.m. Wednesday in his family's Crystal Lake home. (Family photo)
•In October 2013, DCFS investigated an allegation of neglect by the mother and found there was credible evidence to substantiate the allegation. Andrew was born with opiates in his body.
•The following month, DCFS took Andrew into protective custody. He was placed in a foster home and not returned to his own home until June 2015. The case was closed in April 2016.
•In March 2018, DCFS investigated allegations of neglect by the father and mother, but concluded they were unfounded. The mother agreed to re-enter treatment.
•On Dec. 18, 2018, DCFS investigated another allegation of abuse and neglect by the mother, and the boy was temporarily removed by police, but he was returned to the home after the allegations were ruled unfounded. There was no evidence to support allegations of deplorable conditions in the home, and bruising on the child was attributed to the dog.
On Thursday, Andrew’s younger brother was placed in another home under a DCFS safety plan.
Police said they were reviewing all tips and leads. The department said it has no reason to believe there is a threat to the community.
Crystal Lake detectives were working with members of the FBI and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
Police said 15 police agencies helped with the search on Thursday. About 373 acres were covered during a foot search and nearly 500 acres were covered via aerial search by drones.
About 6 p.m. Thursday, a sonar team began to scan the waters of Crystal Lake. Sonar technicians used cameras to search under all the docks and piers along the entire shore of Crystal Lake and also used side-scan sonar techniques on the lake itself off the main beach area. The search ended about 10 p.m.
Andrew has blond hair and was wearing a Mario sweatshirt and black sweatpants when he was last seen. He is about 3 feet 5 inches tall and weighs about 70 pounds.
Quirine Dahlquist, who lives around the corner from the home where AJ apparently went missing, said Thursday she was walking around the neighborhood searching for him, as were others. “I’m freaking out for the family and I don’t even know them,” she said.
Janelle Butler, a neighbor of Andrew “AJ” Freund, describes the scene in Crystal Lake as authorities search for the missing boy on April 18, 2019. (Stacey Wescott/Chicago Tribune)
Bob Atkinson, who lives nearby, also was helping in the search. “It’s upsetting,” he said. “You think it’s not gonna happen in my backyard and it did.”
Atkinson also said he had seen the family on walks around the neighborhood, which he described as “typical middle class.”
Butler said Thursday evening that officers came to her house just after 8 a.m. and told her the boy was missing. Officers with dogs searched the neighborhood, up and down the streets and backyards.
Butler described the neighborhood as “extremely safe.” She said there are always people walking and taking their dogs out and that if a child were wandering the streets, someone would have called police.
“I hope he’s OK,” Butler said. “It’s heartbreaking.”
Tom McIntyre placed a bouquet of flowers on the ground near the home and shook a police officer’s hand. McIntyre, who lives nearby, said he is “just sad” for the family and wanted to do “just something.”
“My prayers and thoughts are with the family,” he said. “(I would) never think this will happen in my community.”
Authorities ask anyone with information to call the Crystal Lake Police Department at 815-356-3620. Anyone with a cellphone who has information regarding the child can send an anonymous tip to the department by texting the word CLPDTIP along with the tip information to 847411 (tip411).
Chicago Tribune’s Stacey Wescott and WGN-TV contributed.
Amanda Marrazzo is a freelance reporter.
Above is from: https://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/ct-met-crystal-lake-missing-boy-andrew-freund-20190419-story.html
