Iowa medical examiner confirms Xavior Harrelson’s remains found

Nearly five months after Xavior Harrelson was reported missing from a Montezuma mobile home park where he lived with his mother, authorities confirmed Friday that human remains found in a nearby farm field were of the 11-year-old boy.

“The cause of death has not been released at this time,” said a statement from Poweshiek County Sheriff Thomas Kriegel.

The boy was reported missing May 27, just shy of his 11th birthday. Posters with Xavior’s picture plastered the town, and a reward fund raised about $35,000, but massive searches failed to locate him.

Then on Sept. 30, a farmer reported to authorities that remains had been spotted in a soybean field about 3 miles northwest of town. Investigators at the time said clothing found with the remains was consistent with what the boy was last seen wearing, but that the Iowa State Medical Examiner would need to confirm the body’s identity.

“On today’s date, the Poweshiek County Sheriff’s Office was notified by the Iowa State Medical Examiner’s office that the human remains have been positively identified as those of Xavior Harrelson,” the statement said.