Ransom’s search for Virginia Beach the 12-year-old boy was a fraud, according to Virgin Pilot police

The ransom texts sent to the family of 12-year-old Juan Asevedo were fraud abroad, police said on Thursday.

Asevedo’s parents announced that he had disappeared last Friday night after he did not return home from an expected visit to a friend’s house. Police issued Amber Alert early Saturday and began to investigate the boy’s disappearance as a possible kidnapping after the family was requested for a ransom during Facebook live, in which they sought help to find Acevedo.

Later, his body was found in a pond at the entrance of Cambria in the Cornerstone complex.

From the weekend, police have been working to find who may have sent the ransom messages. According to VBPD, investigators are partnering with federal officials to track the source of someone outside the United States. Police said the messages were “fraud to get money from a family in trouble.”

There is no suspected crime or false game at the death of Asevedo.

Originally Posted: January 30, 2025 at 2:15 pm Est