The stepmother of a 5 year-old boy who went missing Feb. 17, 2018 from his home in Wichita, Kansas has been found dead.
Emily Glass reported her stepson, Lucas Hernandez missing, claiming she had awakened from a nap and he was gone.
The little boy’s grandfather, who was out of state when Lucas disappeared, had heard of Smithfield, NC private investigator David Marshburn. Marshburn was featured on the national TV show 48 Hours after he found the remains of Army Specialist Kelli Boredaux who disappeared from a Fayetteville nightclub in April 2012.
He contacted Marshburn in May and the P.I. agreed to travel to Wichita to help find Lucas. He found the missing boy on May 24th, less than 48 hours after arriving to search. Ms. Glass allegedly led Marshburn to a bridge. The decomposed remains of Lucas was found
underneath the bridge out of sight of passing motorists. Glass allegedly confided with Marshburn she had awakened on Feb. 17 to find Lucas dead in bed.
The cause of death for little Lucas is pending an autopsy and toxicology results.
Glass was initially held on charges of interference of law enforcement and obstruction. She was later released from the Sedwick County Jail without charges.
Even though she had been released from jail, Glass was the main person of interest in the investigation, according to Kansas prosecutors.
Around 1:45am Friday, her live-in boyfriend called 911 saying Emily Glass had committed suicide. Police said 3 suicide notes were found and a rifle was at her feet. Her death is being investigated by Wichita Police and the Sedgwick County Coroner.
The family of Lucas Hernandez released a statement on Friday hours after the apparent suicide. The statement read:
Today, Emily Glass chose to end her own life. We are deeply shocked and saddened by this turn of events.
Another mother and father have lost a child. Children have lost their mother, and a family will have to grieve someone they loved. We know from experience how heartbreaking and tragic this will be for them.
This is not the ending we would have chosen for Emily. She was the only person on this
earth who could tell us what the last moments of our child’s life were like. We wanted answers and we still want justice. Our hope is that the truth will still come out, that there will be answers to the many questions we have.
Please keep Emily’s family in your thoughts and prayers, along with ours. None of us wanted or expected all this loss and devastation that has come to pass. Give both of our families’ time to process this unexpected death.
Also Friday, Sedgwick County District Attorney Marc Bennett said his office along with Wichita Police would continue to investigate the death of Lucas Hernandez. Authorities would not say if any of the 3 notes allegedly left by Glass contained any information about the 5 year-old’s death or disappearance.
