Police find body of missing Newburgh boy
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
NEWBURGH (WABC) -- Authorities say they have found the body of 4-year-old Marc Anthony Bookal, who had been missing from his Newburgh home since December.
Police have a section of Newburgh blocked off, extending from Colden Street to South William Street. The search appears to have centered around a wooded patch near Colden Street.
Authorities have been at the scene since Wednesday morning.
Authorities have been hunting for Bookal since he disappeared from his home on December 14. He was last seen at home by a caretaker around 1 p.m. that day. A short time later, the front door was found open and the child was nowhere to be found.
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Police say the child's mother's boyfriend, Cory Byrd, was watching him at the time, and the boy's mother speculated that he tried to walk to a neighbor's house, but never arrived.
Byrd has been charged with endangering the welfare of a child, as well as a parole violation, in the incident. He has not, however, been charged in the boy's disappearance.
The 30-year-old Byrd was arrested in 1998 after his own son was hospitalized with a fractured skull, broken ribs, a broken wrist and perferated liver. He was charged with reckless endangerment in that case.
Marc Bookal suffered burns to his hands, which his mother claims was an accident, a story that has been met with skepticism by many in the community.
Marc Anthony was last seen wearing a red, long-sleeve shirt, white Nike Uptown sneakers and gray Rocawear sweatpants. He is light skinned, wears his hair in a medium length afro and has discolorations on the back of each hand from the previous burn injury.
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