Ransom demand for Virginia Beach 12-year-old boy was a scam, police say
The ransom texts sent to the family of 12-year-old Juan Acevedo were an overseas scam, police said Thursday.
Acevedo's parents reported him missing last Friday night, after he didn't return home from an expected visit to a friend's house. Police issued an Amber Alert early Saturday, and began investigating the boy's disappearance as a possible abduction after the family received a ransom request during a livestream on Facebook in which they sought help locating Acevedo.
His body was later found in a pond at the entrance of the Cambria at Cornerstone complex.
Since the weekend, police have worked to find who may have sent the ransom messages. According to VBPD, investigators partnered with federal officials to trace the source to someone outside the United States. Police said the messages were 'a scam to obtain money from a family in distress.'
No crimes or foul play are suspected in Acevedo's death.
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