Devastated father assaults ex-wife after investigators reveal that remains discovered in creek belong to their missing autistic son
Th devastated father of a missing 16-year-old boy pounced at his son's mother and stepfather after authorities revealed that the recently-discovered remains of a teen were linked to that of the missing boy. Jake Wilson had disappeared on April 7 after he said he was going for a walk in La Porte City. The FBI, Iowa state, and local police launched a major search and hundreds of volunteers joined in to try and find the teen. Investigators revealed on August 16 that the human remains discovered earlier this week in Wolf Creek were believed to be those of the missing teen. The young boy was described by his family as being autistic and having the mental capacity of a 9-year-old.
According to KCRG, Mike Wilson, the child's father, was caught on camera pushing the mother, Megan Neiswonger, and the stepfather, Jeremy Neiswonger, just moments after the press conference was over saying: "I blame you". He was also caught on camera hitting the stepfather on the forehead. The authorities have said that Wilson has now been charged with two counts of assault.
Chris Brecher, the La Porte City police chief, said that emotions had gotten the better of the distraught father. He had been standing only a few feet away from the family when the incident took place. During the press conference, the investigators on the case had revealed that the human remains had been found by a group of recreational kayakers on August 14 in Wolf Creek.
The police chief said that the tests being conducted by the medical examiner had shown that the remains had been "consistent with what we're looking for". He also said that the investigators are yet to determine if any foul play had been involved in the boy's death.
According to The Courier, the creek that runs through the town, which has a population of less than 2,300 people, had been looked over extensively by the authorities over the past four months. Tony Thompson, the Black Hawk County Sheriff, had said that the conditions in the creek had changed drastically since the spring when the water had been higher and that the shift in levels may led to the discovery. He also said that more searches and testing was being done and he stressed that kayakers stay out of the area in the coming days. Thompson said: "We want to know why, we want to know how the teen died."
He said that the discovery of the remains points to what is an unfortunate ending in a case that has touched the hearts of many in the eastern Iowa region. The teen's face had been a regular sight across the region through missing posters that had been put up. His family had described him as being a gentle soul who loved nature and who unfortunately never returned home one fine spring day after going for a walk.
Only one hour away, in the town of Brooklyn, Iowa, a major search is being conducted for Mollie Tibbetts, the missing college student, who vanished after going on a jog on July 18. Thompson said that the Tibbetts case was the one that sparked new interest in the case of 16-year-old Wilson and other missing persons cases in Iowa over the past few weeks. He said: "We hope we are getting close to getting to draw a conclusion on this particular one."