HAMPTON — Police here have confirmed that human remains found at a trash incinerator earlier this month belong to a 2-year-old boy who went missing.
Hampton police said in a brief statement Saturday that DNA analysis has confirmed the remains are those of Noah Tomlin.
Noah’s mother, Julia Tomlin, has been charged with three counts of felony child neglect involving three children, including Noah. She reported Noah missing on June 24, prompting a massive search.
When the remains were found, the Hampton Police Chief Terry Sult declined to say how police believe they ended up there and who they think is responsible. The local prosecutor has also declined to discuss the case.
Police found the remains of a child at the city’s steam plant, Sult said.
“Noah is the epitome of an innocent victim,” Sult said when he announced the find. “He like all innocent victims deserve better”
“Noah is now in a better place,” the chief said.
Noah was last seen by his mother, Julia Tomlin, at approximately 1 a.m. on June 24 and reported him missing to police at 11:36 a.m. authorities said.
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Local law enforcement teamed up with state police and the FBI to search for Noah Tomlin in the Buckroe Beach neighborhood and surrounding areas. Trash collection was stopped and search teams even looked in Bethel landfill and city’s main landfill.
The six-phase operation to find Noah consisted of four independent searches at the toddler’s home and two at the steam plant, Sult said, adding investigative and search teams spent more than 10,000 man hours looking for Noah and sifted through about 1,000 tons — or 2 million pounds — of garbage.
