Blountville, Tennessee - Remains believed to be that of a 15-month-old girl were found in Tennessee, ending the 17-day search across three states for a missing toddler, authorities said.
At a press conference Friday night, Sullivan County Sheriff Jeff Cassidy said detectives received a tip that led to a property belonging to a “family member of Evelyn’s mother.”
“This is certainly not the update we had hoped to provide this evening,” TBI spokeswoman Leslie Earhart said.
The remains are being sent for autopsy and positive identification, Sheriff Jeff Cassidy said. He said authorities acting on a tip found the remains on a property in Blountville that is owned by a relative of Evelyn's mother.
The TBI and the sheriff's office did not provide updates on the investigation when contacted by email on Saturday.
Evelyn's mother, Megan Boswell, 18, initially told state investigators that Evelyn was with the child’s father, Ethan Perry, according to court documents from her arraignment. But Perry is stationed with the US Army at Fort Polk, Louisiana, and did not have Evelyn, WJHL-TV reported.
Megan Boswell later said her mother, Angela Boswell, took her daughter to a campground in Mendota, Virginia, not far from Tennessee's Sullivan County. Authorities searched multiple campgrounds in that area and found no sign of the girl, the TV station said.
Angela Boswell herself was arrested the week before her daughter was taken into custody. She and her boyfriend, William McCloud, were arrested in North Carolina on fugitive warrants unrelated to Evelyn's case, authorities had said. Authorities looking for Evelyn searched a pond in the county where they were arrested.
Angela Boswell told a judge in North Carolina that she wanted to go home and resolve the situation with her granddaughter, news outlets reported at the time. She was subsequently returned to the Sullivan County jail.
Investigators with the TBI believed Evelyn's mother and grandmother had information about her whereabouts.
Authorities stressed that the investigation was ongoing and there was limited information to provide Friday. The identity of the property owner wasn't revealed, and authorities didn't indicate whether there have been any additional arrests or charges. The district's attorney general, Barry Staubus, said authorities would evaluate the case once the investigation was complete.
“Based on what's happened tonight, there's a lot of work to be done: forensically and just old-fashioned investigative work," Staubus said.