Robert Manwill 8, missing 7/24/09 Boise, Idaho (BODY FOUND)

[Kat_Gram]

So, if he got the SUV back on the 27th and reported it on the 27th ? How did he even know it was gone and on what date ? This dude makes no sense. Who's he the closest to ? The bf ?  This is like Cindy Ant trying to report her car stolen after she has it back ? 

[no rose colored glasses]

So, if he got the SUV back on the 27th and reported it on the 27th ? How did he even know it was gone and on what date ? This dude makes no sense. Who's he the closest to ? The bf ?  This is like Cindy Ant trying to report her car stolen after she has it back ? 

I would like to know who he is the closest too also, and what was the real point in why he called to say his SUV had been stolen?

[pink angel]

So, if he got the SUV back on the 27th and reported it on the 27th ? How did he even know it was gone and on what date ? This dude makes no sense. Who's he the closest to ? The bf ?  This is like Cindy Ant trying to report her car stolen after she has it back ? 

Wallis is friends' with David E. Which is Daniel (Melissa's BF) brother. He said he knows Daniel and Melissa but is friends with David.

The whole story to me in hinky. I questioned it from the first article. I will find it and bump it.

[Sassycat]

NEW BLINK POST:

http://blinkoncrime.com/2009/08/04/body-of-missing-idaho-child-robert-manwill-found-in-canal/

Body of Missing Idaho Child Robert Manwill Found in Canal

       Rest in Peace Robert. 

[Leroy]

So, if he got the SUV back on the 27th and reported it on the 27th ? How did he even know it was gone and on what date ? This dude makes no sense. Who's he the closest to ? The bf ?  This is like Cindy Ant trying to report her car stolen after she has it back ? 

I would like to know who he is the closest too also, and what was the real point in why he called to say his SUV had been stolen?

IMO the only reason you would make a report is if you knew that there was evidence of a missing child in your vehicle. Only explanation I can come up with! 

[SunnyinTX]

NEW BLINK POST:

http://blinkoncrime.com/2009/08/04/body-of-missing-idaho-child-robert-manwill-found-in-canal/

Body of Missing Idaho Child Robert Manwill Found in Canal

       Rest in Peace Robert. 

Even though we 'knew' it was Robert when the body was found....it still slams right into your heart to have it verified.  Bless his heart. He is at peace and no harm can come to him now.

[Leroy]

Perriwinkle - I see you up there...where have you been??  Good to see you.

Tragic about Robert though...however I believe he is in a much better place now 

[pink angel]

Search for Robert Manwill turns grim
Man 'sick' as police search his yard; father of mother's boyfriend says son accused him
BY BRIAN MURPHY - bmurphy@idahostatesman.com
Copyright: © 2009 Idaho Statesman
Published: 08/01/09


The man whose Boise home and yard were being searched Friday night for evidence related to Robert Manwill's disappearance says he knows the 8-year-old's family but has no idea what may have happened to him.

Evan Wallis told the Idaho Statesman that he doesn't know what police are looking for at his rental home in the 6600 block of Southdale Avenue, near Five Mile Road in Southwest Boise.

"If it's going to help anything, do it," Wallis said. He said he knows Robert's mother and her boyfriend but is much closer to the boyfriend's brother, David Ehrlick. "I'm innocent. I'm an innocent bystander."

Wallis' comments came after 24 hours of drama that began with a Thursday night police search of the apartment near Vista Avenue where Manwill's mother, Melissa Jenkins, lives with her boyfriend, Daniel Ehrlick Jr.

On Friday, police said they had discovered "suspicious circumstances," and as night fell authorities were searching Wallis' backyard.

The Statesman interviewed Wallis at David Ehrlick's home in the 2800 block of Bannock Street. Also interviewed there was Daniel Ehrlick Sr., the father of David Ehrlick and Daniel Ehrlick Jr.

Daniel Ehrlick Sr. said that his son Daniel had accused him of taking Robert and that police had questioned him repeatedly.

THE BACKYARD SEARCH, A STOLEN SUBURBAN

Wallis said the police were digging up his backyard after bloodhounds picked up a scent at his house.

He said his black-and-gray Chevy Suburban was stolen July 22 after someone came into his house and took the keys. He found it Monday after returning from a weekend away and called the Ada County Sheriff's Department.

When officials investigated, he told them of his connection to the Ehrlick family.

"I mentioned that I know these guys. I've met the little boy," Wallis said.

Wallis said he last saw Robert at David Ehrlick's home a few months ago.

He said he and his wife have been re-doing their backyard, planting grass and adding a sandbox. He said he did not notice any disturbances in the backyard, which he said was large and had "a lot of junk" in it.

"It makes me sick to know this is going down at my house right now," he said. "I didn't do nothing back there. I'm not going to say for the record nothing's back there because I don't know. Maybe something did happen along the lines when I was out of town."

EHRLICH'S FATHER: MY SON ACCUSED ME

A man Robert called "Grandpa" said Friday that he has been questioned repeatedly by investigators after his older son accused him of taking Robert and told investigators the same thing.

Daniel Ehrlick Sr., a former Marine who served in Vietnam, said he thought he saw Robert on the day he was reported missing when he stopped by Ehrlick Jr.'s apartment to drop off money to help pay bills.

"(Ehrlick Jr.) told me that Robert was down in the back. When I came to the door, I don't know if it was then that I spotted it, or I spotted it before, but I spotted another boy that looked just like Robert with a white T-shirt on," Ehrlick Sr. said.

Investigators have said Robert was wearing a blue Superman T-shirt at the time of his disappearance.

"I haven't talked to him since he accused me Sunday. I haven't talked to him," Ehrlick Sr. said. "I don't know if (Jenkins and Ehrlick Jr. have) been real truthful with me."

David Ehrlick, Ehrlick Sr.'s youngest son, said he was with his father the entire day on Friday.

Ehrlick Sr. said he used to pick up Robert at his father's house in New Plymouth and bring him to Boise. He teared up as he discussed the missing child while smoking a cigarette in his front yard.

Ehrlick Sr. and his youngest son, David, told a story of a boy that was constantly in trouble with his mother for the pettiest of infractions. David Ehrlick said that Robert was not allowed to go outside and play during a recent birthday party.

"It was scary around her with her children. Robert would get in trouble for everything. It didn't matter if it was asking a question, he'd get grounded. He'd have to sit on his hands," said David Ehrlick. "He's just a little boy."

Said Ehrlick Sr.: "That's why I was afraid to even say, 'Robert, let's go fishing.'"

They said that they told investigators their concern when Jenkins was investigated for injuring her infant in October 2008.

Ehrlick Sr. praised the volunteers and investigators.

"People have been awesome. I just wish there was something I could do for all the people involved," he said. "In my opinion, the Boise police are doing a good job."

POLICE AT THE APARTMENT, THE LANDFILL, THE HOUSE

The police and FBI have been investigating some of the people closest to Robert - including the boy's mother, her boyfriend and his father.

After spending hours searching the apartment shared by Jenkins and Ehrlick Jr. - and removing at least two cars from the Oak Park Village apartment complex near Vista Avenue - police announced that they had found new evidence that showed Robert could have been "the victim of a tragic event." They asked the more than 2,300 volunteers scouring Boise to start looking for signs of a crime.

Meanwhile, officers converged on Wallis' home and cordoned off an area of the Hidden Hollow Landfill that had been left alone since trash was dumped there the morning after Robert was reported missing.

Landfill operators said they could use a backhoe to spread Saturday's refuse thin enough to be searched, if asked.

Boise police had said all week that they had no reason to suspect foul play and had no suspects. But friends and family members say officers had been examining several people close to Robert.

Sean Buffington, who lives upstairs and across the hall from the apartment shared by Jenkins and Ehrlick Jr., said Ehrlick Jr. told him last Sunday that "basically the two of them were the No. 1 suspects" already.

"He said they had been through the wringer as far as interrogations," Buffington said.

Jenkins is on parole after pleading guilty to a misdemeanor charge of injury to a child in relation to an October 2008 incident that left her infant with a fractured skull.

Ehrlick Jr. has been convicted of burglary, battery and possession of drug paraphernalia, and is banned by the courts from being alone with Robert's half-sister.

The couple, who had appeared but not spoken at many of the police updates, did not attend Friday's news conference.

A Saint Alphonsus Regional Medical Center spokesperson said Friday that Ehrlick Jr. had been admitted and released from the hospital but did not say exactly when or for what he was treated.

Police plan a news conference at noon Saturday to update the public.

Brian Murphy: 377-6444. Reporters Rocky Barker, Cynthia Sewell, Anna Webb and Bethann Stewart contributed.

http://www.idahostatesman.com/eyepiece/story/852598.html

Someone 'came into his house and took the keys'. That's an odd choice of words.

I would have said someone must have broke into my house and stole the keys.

Innocent bystanders usually are standing by watching but they don't participate in any crime that is taking place.

Odd choice of words too.

Convenient that he was gone for the weekend and when he returned he just happen to "find" the "stolen" SUV.

My hinky meter is going off big-time.

He is covering for someone.

http://www.2news.tv/news/52270027.html?video=YHI&t=a
In this video Wallis clearly says - I was devastated that my truck was being considered part of this "murder" (then quickly catches himself and says...) "case" with Robert.


Boise man's home searched in Manwill disappearance
Story Updated: Aug 1, 2009 at 6:50 PM MDT
By Jen Wahl


BOISE - Friday evening and Saturday morning, authorities looking for 8-year-old Robert Manwill focused their efforts on Evan Wallis' Boise home and blue Suburban.

"I was devastated that my truck was being considered part of this case with Robert," Wallis said.

The Homeowner, Wallis, says he has three boys of his own and is an innocent bystander in the investigation.

Wallis says he welcomed authorities to his backyard to search for anything that may lead them to the little boy.

"I have complete cooperation with them because it is a little boy that needs to be found," he said.

Wallis says police searched his home after bloodhounds picked up a scent on his Suburban. He says his truck was stolen on July 22, just two days before Robert disappeared. Then it turned back up on Monday and Wallis notified the Ada County Sheriff's Office.

"And that's what lead them to come back here and get a warrant to come dig up our backyard," Wallis said. "I told them go ahead just as long as you just leave things the way they were when you're done."

At a news conference earlier this afternoon, Boise Deputy Chief Jim Kerns says he couldn't tell CBS 2 anything about the search on Wallis' property, and they're looking into more than 300 tips.

"At this point the investigation to find Robert is an hour by hour effort," Kerns said. "The lead detectives are constantly evaluating evidence and focusing resources."

Wallis says the only thing investigators were going to find in his home were freshly dug dirt from grass he was planting and a few tree stumps.

Although he says he knows the Ehrlick family very well, he wasn't very close to Melissa Jenkin's or her boyfriend Daniel Ehrlick.

Wallis says he hopes the investigation helps lead police to 8-year-old Robert Manwill and is glad he was able to help.

http://www.2news.tv/news/52270027.html

BUMP

[cece]

NEW BLINK POST:

http://blinkoncrime.com/2009/08/04/body-of-missing-idaho-child-robert-manwill-found-in-canal/

Body of Missing Idaho Child Robert Manwill Found in Canal

       Rest in Peace Robert. 

 


Even though we 'knew' it was Robert when the body was found....it still slams right into your heart to have it verified.  Bless his heart. He is at peace and no harm can come to him now.

You are so right Sunny.  We knew this was coming, but I don't think we are ever prepared for the effect it has on us each time it is verified.  I feel the same way you do.   

[Leroy]

Alright I'm gonna give Wallis the benefit of the doubt for a second...lets say he found out that something happened to Robert...and he thought maybe mom's b/f was involved...and that it involved his SUV and/or property (if he was in fact out of town).  Perhaps he reported the SUV stolen in hopes or thinking BPD would find it *odd* since he knew Roberts mom.  And maybe he wanted to them to investigate it in some way.  Afterall he was cooperative with BPD. 

And this would be his was of *not really* snitching....

[pink angel]

"I told them go ahead just as long as you just leave things the way they were when you're done."

They had a warrant, they were not asking your permission. Jerkwad.
Just as long as you leave things the way they were when you're done? Who says that when a boy is missing/possibly dead?

[mamacrazy30]

So, if he got the SUV back on the 27th and reported it on the 27th ? How did he even know it was gone and on what date ? This dude makes no sense. Who's he the closest to ? The bf ?  This is like Cindy Ant trying to report her car stolen after she has it back ? 

omg the exact same...with cindy i think it was to put the screws to skanky..but this guy i don't know...if he knew what was up then i would hope that with getting to police involved he would realize the result...DON"T get me wrong...i have no love for this dude...but i wonder if he did find his suv that day (not at his house where he left it) so he reported it.  even if him and bf were friends...if bf is involved i have a feeling that he would do whatever it took to keep the spotlight on someone else.

i could be wrong.

[pink angel]

Alright I'm gonna give Wallis the benefit of the doubt for a second...lets say he found out that something happened to Robert...and he thought maybe mom's b/f was involved...and that it involved his SUV and/or property (if he was in fact out of town).  Perhaps he reported the SUV stolen in hopes or thinking BPD would find it *odd* since he knew Roberts mom.  And maybe he wanted to them to investigate it in some way.  Afterall he was cooperative with BPD. 

And this would be his was of *not really* snitching....

I can buy that. That thought did run across my mind, he was either covering and knew or he had an idea that Danny had borrowed his truck and didn't want to make it an issue but after Robert went missing he put two and two together and knew that his truck may have played a role and called it in as stolen and "mentioned" to the police by the way, I know the missing boy's mom and boyfriend.

[mamacrazy30]

Alright I'm gonna give Wallis the benefit of the doubt for a second...lets say he found out that something happened to Robert...and he thought maybe mom's b/f was involved...and that it involved his SUV and/or property (if he was in fact out of town).  Perhaps he reported the SUV stolen in hopes or thinking BPD would find it *odd* since he knew Roberts mom.  And maybe he wanted to them to investigate it in some way.  Afterall he was cooperative with BPD. 

And this would be his was of *not really* snitching....

I can buy that. That thought did run across my mind, he was either covering and knew or he had an idea that Danny had borrowed his truck and didn't want to make it an issue but after Robert went missing he put two and two together and knew that his truck may have played a role and called it in as stolen and "mentioned" to the police by the way, I know the missing boy's mom and boyfriend.

maybe Danny had borrowed the suv for a 'different' reason and when the truck was gone for 2 days as well as Robert (then the truck shows up again) thats when he reports it.  maybe he lent the truck to Danny for a reason he wouldn't feel comfortable admitting to the police so he waited??

[Leroy]

Alright I'm gonna give Wallis the benefit of the doubt for a second...lets say he found out that something happened to Robert...and he thought maybe mom's b/f was involved...and that it involved his SUV and/or property (if he was in fact out of town).  Perhaps he reported the SUV stolen in hopes or thinking BPD would find it *odd* since he knew Roberts mom.  And maybe he wanted to them to investigate it in some way.  Afterall he was cooperative with BPD. 

And this would be his was of *not really* snitching....

I can buy that. That thought did run across my mind, he was either covering and knew or he had an idea that Danny had borrowed his truck and didn't want to make it an issue but after Robert went missing he put two and two together and knew that his truck may have played a role and called it in as stolen and "mentioned" to the police by the way, I know the missing boy's mom and boyfriend.

maybe Danny had borrowed the suv for a 'different' reason and when the truck was gone for 2 days as well as Robert (then the truck shows up again) thats when he reports it.  maybe he lent the truck to Danny for a reason he wouldn't feel comfortable admitting to the police so he waited??

Yep, and no matter which way you slice it, Wallis knows something.

[pink angel]

Ada County Coroner says the fact Robert Manwill was found in water makes it harder to determine his cause of death
Kathleen Kreller and Patrick Orr - Idaho Statesman
Published: 08/04/09

Boise Deputy Police Chief Jim Kerns said local police and federal investigators remain dedicated to "finding answers" for 8-year-old Robert Manwill's family and the Treasure Valley community that has come together in the 11 days since the boy was reported missing July 24.

"Finding Robert will not be the end, but just the beginning of an entirely new investigation," he said.

In a Tuesday press conference scheduled after the Ada County Coronor "tentatively" identified a dead boy found in the New York Canal as Robert, Kerns said police were engaged in a "very active" investigation, but cautioned against speculating about what could have happened and not to jump to any conclusions.

Police have to "focus on evidence," he said.

Kerns said Robert's family is still in close contact with police and being updated throughout the investigation.

"We ask that you continue to keep Robert, his family and the dedicated investigators in your thoughts," he said.

Earlier Tuesday, the coroner's office said that the boy found in a canal between Boise and Kuna Monday was most likely Robert.

Positive identification will be released as soon as this office receives the dental records and the forensic odontologist can compare the findings," the office said in a release. "We are working closely with the Boise Police Department and our preliminary results are being turned over to Boise police to help further their investigation."

Coroners regularly use dental records to confirm identity of victims, said Ada County Coroner Erwin Sonnenberg.

"We feel tentatively that's him and we need to do the dental identification" Sonnenberg said. "That would be a bizarre situation...another kid the same size."

The report issued Tuesday does not indicate a cause of death, that is "pending investigation." It also says the place of death is "unknown."

"I'm sure a cause of death will be released down the road," Sonnenberg said Tuesday. "Everything has got to be put together to find out just what has happened."

Sonnenberg said water complicates his work.

"You can't assume as much as quickly," he said. "Now you have to add the fact that you have...decomposition in water which greatly complicates the case."

Robert was reported missing at 10:11 p.m. on Friday, July 24. Since then, hundreds of local and federal law enforcement officers and more than 2,000 citizen volunteers have been searching to find him.

Two people called 911 Monday after seeing the body of a small boy floating in the New York Canal — the same one that crosses Vista Avenue less than a half-mile from the apartment where Robert was reportedly last seen.

The New York Canal is 47 miles long between the diversion dam on the Boise River and Lake Lowell, according to Paul Deveau, project manager for the Boise Project Board of Control.

Deveau estimates from the Vista Avenue apartment to where Manwill's body was found as a roughly 18-mile stretch.

There are no gates or grates between those two locations to stop a body, he said. And it would take more than a week for a body to float that far, he said.

"We deal with this a lot," Devaue said. "Usually, any place from Broadway to Gowen Road...if somebody goes in that area, it's going to be one to two weeks before we see them at Cloverdale."

Deveau said the canal company opened up access roads for Boise Police to conduct a thorough search of the canal after Manwill went missing.

There are a set of "body gates" at Cloverdale Road, Deveau said, but the canal company must lower them into place. That didn't happen, because Boise police "thought he wasn't in the canal so we didn't put the gates in," he said.

Boise police officials announced last week they had found undisclosed evidence indicating that Robert could be injured or the "victim of a tragic event." They still have not identified any suspects or people of interest in the case.

http://www.idahostatesman.com/eyepiece/story/855363.html

http://videos.idahostatesman.com/vmix_hosted_apps/p/media?id=5447313&item_in%20dex=1&all=1&sort=NULL
Link to Tuesday's press conference.

[joesamas mama]

I just got home and read that it was Robert that was found. I knew in my heart yesterday because the hair on my arms was standing on end.

I just want to say to you Little Man: I didn't know you were missing, once I found out, you were in my prayers and I am so sorry that you are gone. I send up prayers for you, for your father, your brother, your stepmother and I will try in my heart of hearts to send up prayers for your mother as well.

Sleep well with Jesus tonight Little Man, may the Angels bless and keep you.

  JSM

[pink angel]

Robert's Uncle Layn at little man's memorial.
 

[sunshine12]

Thanks Leroy, No Rose and all of you for the quick updates.

I apologize if y'all already know this, but I was able to confirm the Police report on Walli's suburban was filed on Monday the 27th, not on the 22nd as he alleged. He reported the theft and the recovery on the same day.

There is no doubt in my mind Robert was buried in that man's backyard temporarily.

Maybe I am missing something, how does a woman get a $75 fine and work release for fracturing her infants skull? How does she keep the other kids in an unsupervised setting? When will the courts decide to become proactive vs. reactive?
  

i agree that robert was buried in the backyard. i also think that the fact he was found in the canal 2 miles from that property speaks volumes.

[Tina Bee]

^^^Boise Diversion Dam and Power Plant

This website tells us a little more about the New York Canal and the Boise Diversion Dam.

In this picture it looks like the 'body gates' are visible. On HLN they were saying that yesterday the gates were up.