Virginia Beach Police confirmed they found the body of a 12-year-old boy in a residential pond on Monday after he was reportedly abducted on Friday.
Virginia State Police issued an AMBER Alert for Juan Sebastian Mejia Acevedo on Saturday stating he was believed "to be in extreme danger" after his family reported him missing Friday night when he didn't return home. His parents thought he was at a friend's house.
The AMBER alert also stated Acevedo was last seen on Mica Avenue at an apartment complex located in the Kempsville area of Virginia Beach wearing a red hoodie, black shoes and blue pants.
The body pulled from a pond nearby on Monday matched the clothing description and physical description, police said. Officials later confirmed the body's identity.
Virginia Beach Police Chief Paul Neudigate said he thinks the ice that formed during the recent cold weather "played a big role" but did not offer any more details. The boy's cause of death are still under investigation.
The circumstances surrounding Acevedo's disappearance are still a mystery.
Scripps News Norfolk said his parents were on Facebook live to spread awareness about their son's disappearance when they received what appeared to be a ransom request for their son on the mobile messaging platform, WhatsApp.
Neudigate shared that either the family or someone on behalf of the family paid the $500 ransom, but after that, there was no additional communication with whoever sent the demand.
When asked by the media if the ransom note could have been a scam, Neudigate responded, “This would not be the first time that that type of scam has been perpetuated on a family that is going through difficult circumstances. Is that a possibility? It absolutely is."
He added that the possibility of it being a ransom scam was one of the department's theories, but not treating it as an actual threat or kidnapping would be negligent.
Police haven’t identified potential suspect(s) behind the ransom, but Neudigate said it's still part of their investigation.
“Unfortunately, because it involved out-of-state transactions, we need search warrants, subpoenas, to try to identify who that individual was who received that money," he shared.
Watch: Virginia Beach boy still missing four days after he was last seen
This story was originally published by Scripps News Norfolk.