Late on August 7, new Denver Police Chief Paul Pazen confirmed that the body of seven-year-old Montbello resident Jordan Vong, reported missing the previous day, had been found. A death investigation is under way.
The case burst into the public consciousness yesterday afternoon. At approximately 3:15 p.m. on August 7, the Denver Police Department tweeted this:
MISSING CHILD: JORDAN VONGLaw enforcers fanned out in Vong's neighborhood, where he was often seen playing in his yard. Then, at 9:51 p.m., just over six hours after the initial alert, a DPD tweet noted that an update was coming, and it arrived shortly thereafter in the form of a brief press conference delivered by Pazen. Here's the video.
Jordan Vong is 7 years-old and has been missing since yesterday at about 4:30 PM from the area of Chambers Road and Bolling Drive in far northeast Denver. He is an Asian male, with brown hair and brown eyes; he is 3'7" tall and weighs about 40 pounds. Jordan was last seen wearing a shirt and grey sweatpants.
If you see Jordan or know his whereabouts, please call 911 or 720-913-2000.
Pazen began by thanking the public for passing along so many tips, and also thanked the Federal Bureau of Investigation and his own officers and investigators.Chief Pazen provides update on missing boy, Jordan Vong, who has been found deceased. Death investigation underway. https://t.co/M544fZa5XD
— Denver Police Dept. (@DenverPolice) August 8, 2018
He then said, "This case has transitioned and our investigators will be working hard to answer the questions moving forward at this time. We would ask that you can be respectful of the investigation, because there are processes in place to ensure that we follow up on this investigation and make sure that the case is handled appropriately."
In response to a question about where the boy's body had been found, and if it was in the family home, Pazen replied, "At this time, we really don't want to share that. We want to ensure the integrity of the investigation, making sure we really dive into this, find out exactly what happened. We'll give updates as they become available."
Pazen was also asked if the death could have been accidental. "It's way too early to determine any of that," he said. "This is an investigation that we hope to have the answers to in the near future, and as those become available, we will share them with you."
Pazen avoided using the term "homicide" and stressed that it is "too early in the investigation to name any suspects." He added that "we don't believe the community is in danger.... The case was reported as a missing person's case on the 6th. What I can tell you is that our investigators and officers have been working tirelessly on this case throughout the night and into the morning, all day today, in order to search for Jordan. Unfortunately, this has turned into a death investigation."
Although Pazen noted that Vong was reported missing by a family member, he declined to say which one. "That's part of the investigation," he explained. The lack of additional details is "to protect the integrity of the investigation. We want to make sure we're crossing every 'T' and dotting every 'I,' doing things right.... This is just the beginning. It's a long process. We need to make sure we do this the right way all the way through. We need to really dive into it, figure out exactly what happened before we can clearly say what's going to take place."
