VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — On Saturday morning, Jan. 25, Hampton Roads, and people as far north as Dinwiddie, awoke to the buzzing blare of an AMBER Alert reporting that a 12-year-old boy had possibly been abducted.
In a tragic turn, Juan Sebastian Mejia Acevedo's body was recovered in a pond Monday afternoon right where he had last been seen by his family three days earlier.
Here is a timeline of events as we know them from authorities and our reporting.
Friday, Jan. 24 around 9 a.m.
Juan is last seen by his parents, who believed he was going to a friend's house, according to VBPD.
Friday, Jan. 24 around 9 p.m.
Juan has not come home, and his worried parents call Virginia Beach Police and go on Facebook Live to ask the community to help finding their son, according to VBPD.
An unknown individual contacts Juan's parents using messaging app WhatsApp and demands a $500 ransom. The ransom was paid and there was no more communication with the ransomer, according to VBPD.
VBPD begins investigating Juan's disappearance as an abduction.
Police have since said the ransom transaction was sent to someone out of state, making tracing it back to the individual(s) more challenging.
Watch: VBPD investigate possible scam on family of Juan Acevedo
Saturday, Jan. 25, 2 a.m.
VBPD requests an AMBER Alert with Virginia State Police (VSP).
Saturday, Jan. 25, 5:44 a.m.
VSP send an email to news outlets notifying them of the AMBER Alert for Juan on behalf of VBPD. The email calls the incident a "child abduction," where the child is believed to be "in extreme danger," according to VSP. The release again refers to Juan as "the abducted child" while giving his physical description.
Saturday, Jan. 25, 7:14 a.m.
Though times may vary a bit, cell phone users received an AMBER Alert a little after 7 a.m. as a Wireless Emergency Alert (WEA).
Saturday, Jan. 25, 7:18 a.m.
VBPD post the digital flyer to social media with more detail about where he had last been seen, in the 200 block of Mica Avenue, and his physical description.
Saturday, Jan. 25, 4 p.m.
A VBPD spokesperson sends an email to news outlets explaining why they are using the abduction label, but do not go into detail.
Sunday, Jan 26, 3:09 p.m.
VBPD sends out another social media post with a link to a longer press release and an evidence submission portal for the case.
In this release, more detail is shared about the investigation, including how they began to believe he was abducted.
VBPD notes that they contacted Immigration and Customs Enforcement to verify he was not in their custody, which appeared to be in response to suggestions from social media commenters.
VBPD had deployed drones, helicopters, mounted patrols, foot patrols, and worked with Hampton police K9s, state police and federal partners.
In this release, VBPD says they "do not believe this is a recovery mission," meaning they still at that point believed him to be alive; however, marine units and dive teams were patrolling nearby lakes and ponds.
Monday, Jan. 27, 10:18 a.m.
News 3 reporter John Hood spots a VBPD marine unit searching the pond next to the Cambria at Cornerstone apartments in Virginia Beach, near Town Center — where he had last been reportedly seen alive around 72 hours prior, in the 200 block of Mica Avenue.
Over the next two hours, a crowd begins forming around the pond and the police presence grows significantly. The pond is roped off and divers appear to be preparing to remove something from the water.
Monday, Jan. 27, 12:54 p.m.
Officers line up along the pond with a large white sheet to obscure the view for onlookers.
Monday, Jan. 27, 1:01 p.m.
Police report a body has been recovered from the pond.
Monday, Jan. 27, 1:08 p.m.
At the scene, a somber Virginia Beach Police Chief Paul Neudigate speaks to the media about the body recovered, stating that the individual matches the physical and clothing description of Juan Mejia Acevedo.
Neudigate says they did not initially believe they would find Juan's body in the pond due to prior investigative work but were there to do due diligence. He adds that it is too early to determine whether there will be a homicide investigation.
Neudigate discusses the ransom WhatsApp message, indicating that it will be difficult to track because it was out-of-state and therefore will require search warrants and subpoenas to identify the recipient.
Monday, Jan. 27, 3:00 p.m.
Virginia State Police officially cancels the AMBER Alert.
Monday, Jan. 27, 3:28 p.m.
VBPD spokesperson sends an email to media confirming that the body was indeed Juan's. They do not have an official cause of death.
Monday, Jan. 27, 7:00 p.m.
A candlelight vigil is held for Juan at the site where his body was recovered earlier that day.
Monday, Jan. 27, 7:18 p.m.
Juan's mother, Jenny Patricia Acevedo Duque, posts to a Facebook group started for Juan when he was missing thanking the community for their support.
"First I want to thank so many people have been with me through this difficult time. People you don't know and joined, Ah (sic) all the authorities who did a good job in this search and to the Hispanic community and all of Virginia who joined together to help."
She leaves her phone number and banking information to ask for financial help.
Tuesday, Jan. 28, 11:06 a.m.
VBPD says the cause of death has still not been determined, no arrests have been made, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement is not involved.
They are continuing to look into the ransom request.
Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2:47 p.m.
The Virginia Office of the Chief Medical Examiner rules that Juan's death was caused by an accidental drowning.
