Missing 12-year-old boy’s case treated as abduction after ransom requests

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY) -- The Virginia Beach Police Department have enlisted federal partners to assist in locating a 12-year-old boy who has been missing since Friday. Juan Sebastian Mejia Acevedo, 12, was last seen by his parents in the 200 block of Mica Avenue at approximately 9 a.m. on Jan. 24. Acevedo's parents believed him to be at a friend's house. When he didn't return home, they contacted VBPD. While officers were searching for him, the family took to Facebook Live to ask their friends and family to help find him. While on Facebook Live, the family started receiving ransom requests through WhatsApp, prompting officers to treat the case as an abduction. “Yesterday, to assist our efforts, we brought in federal partners to supplement our resources, canvassed the neighborhood and surrounding areas, collected video footage, utilized drones, employed bloodhounds from the Hampton Police Department and Virginia State Police, and spoke multiple times to Juan’s friends and family,” Virginia Beach Police Department said in a statement on Sunday. VBPD is working with Virginia State Police and Hampton Police to support their search efforts. Search efforts on Sunday will include drones and helicopters if conditions allow, as well as mounted patrol and additional uniformed officers to augment detectives canvassing in neighborhoods. VBPD also noted in the release that they have contacted Immigration, Customs and Enforcement and confirmed that Acevado is not in their Custody.