The Denver Police Department announced today, January 3, that the mother of a missing 7-year-old boy found dead in a storage unit at 5005 East Evans Avenue has turned herself in to police.

Elisha A. Pankey is being held for the investigation of child abuse resulting in death. The identification of the boy and his cause of death will be released by the Office of the Medical Examiner at a later date.

"This is an ongoing investigation and no other details are being released at this time," the DPD wrote in a statement.

The Denver Police are requesting that anyone with information regarding Elisha Pankey or her son contact Metro Denver Crime Stoppers at 720-913-STOP (7867).

Update, January 7: Denver District Attorney Beth McCann has charged Pankey with one count of child abuse resulting in death and one count of abuse of a corpse. “Thanks to the tenacious work by both the Aurora and Denver Police Departments, we now know that young Caden was not only missing for several months, he was no longer alive. This is a terrible tragedy for the community,” McCann said in a statement. “While this case will take time to resolve, it will take even longer for our community to learn and heal.”

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