HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Hallandale Beach Police are looking for a 1-year-old boy who was last seen in July 2011, and they say his father's explanations for the boy's disappearance cannot be proven.
Calvin Melvin, Jr., the boy's father, was missing earlier Thursday, but voluntarily showed up at the police department Thursday night for questioning, police said.
Hallandale Beach Police assisted a Broward Sheriff's Office child endangerment investigator with an unrelated child neglect case on Wednesday, said Halladale Beach Police Chief Dwayne Flournoy.
Dontrell Melvin, 1, was supposed to be at the home, but wasn't there. His father, Calvin Melvin, Jr., told police the boy was at a grandparent's home in Pompano Beach, said Flournoy.
The child endangerment investigator went to the home in Pompano Beach, but Dontrell wasn't there either. When he returned, Calvin Melvin was gone and did not reappear until Thursday night, police said.
After questioning Melvin again, detectives said the father gave them several different stories to explain the whereabouts of his son.
"The father has provided different stories to different segments of the family," said Flournoy.
Melvin told police he lied about leaving his son with his parents, and instead claimed that he dropped the boy off at a fire station in Miami Gardens, detectives said. Police said they found the story doubtful.
"We checked that. There's no such record," said Flournoy.
Neighbors said they had not seen the baby in months.
"I don't know what happened to the baby and I pray to God nothing happened to the baby," said a neighbor who asked not to be identified.
Police said the boy's mother contacted authorities in October because she Melvin had not allowed her to see their son. The Department of Children and Families investigated, but the findings were unknown, according to police.
"There's a child that's out there. Don't know what happened with this child. The story that the child was left at a fire station at Miami Gardens? I don't believe it. I don't believe it at all," said Flournoy.
Dontrell's mother said she hasn't seen the boy since July 2011, when Calvin Melvin said he took him to a grandparent's home.
"I believe this child is in danger. No one has seen this child since July2011," said Flournoy.