MARIETTA, Georgia — A neighbor remembers seeing little Messiah Harris just days ago, cradled in the arms of his mother’s boyfriend.
“He was holding him and saying he was fixing to be three,” the neighbor recalled.
Messiah never made it to that birthday.
A Missing Child Report That Did Not Add Up
On Friday afternoon, Dairon Keith, 23, called 911 around 2 p.m. to report Messiah missing from their apartment complex on 8 Ridge Run. He told police the boy was last seen just 30 minutes before the call.
But investigators say something was wrong from the start.
Keith’s statements were inconsistent. His account of events kept shifting. And within five hours of that missing child report, officers made a heartbreaking discovery — Messiah’s body, hidden in the woods directly behind the apartment complex.
“A Considerable Amount of Time”
Police say Keith carried the boy’s body into the woods and covered it with dirt and loose vegetation.
Their preliminary finding was deeply troubling.
“His body had been in the woods for a considerable amount of time,” officers wrote in their statement — meaning the child may have been dead long before Keith ever picked up the phone.
Charges Filed, Investigation Ongoing
Keith was charged with concealing the death of another and making false statements to law enforcement. He was booked into Cobb County Jail and is being held without bond.
A medical examiner is conducting an autopsy to determine how Messiah died. Investigators say additional charges are possible once those results come in.
Messiah had been living in the apartment with his mother, Keith, and his siblings. His mother has not been named in connection with the case.
He was just weeks away from turning three.
If you have any information related to this case, contact the Marietta Police Department.