Little Jacob: Why TX Police Released Horrifying Pic Of Dead Boy, 3 Or 4, Whose Body Washed Ashore

Little Jacob: Why TX Police Released Horrifying Pic Of Dead Boy, 3 Or 4, Whose Body Washed Ashore

As a last-ditch effort to identify a deceased young boy, police have done something shocking. Authorities have released a photo of the child’s dead body online.

Ever since Texas police found the body of a young boy who washed ashore in Galveston, Texas back in October, they’ve been desperately trying to identify him. In a new attempt to gather information from the public, authorities posted a photograph of the dead boy’s face on social media. The move could be considered a bold one too, as it’s quite disturbing. Police named the boy, who’s said to be between the ages of 3 and 5, “Little Jacob,” and a sketch of him was released soon after he was found. CLICK HERE TO SEE THE PIC OF LITTLE JACOB’S BODY. WARNING: The photograph is of a deceased child, the content is disturbing.

Little Jacob had big brown eyes and dark hair, and the photograph of him was published on Jan. 30 via the Galveston Police Department’s Facebook page. Authorities also released a lengthy statement along with the image. “‘Little Jacob’ Autopsy results and Photo Release In Efforts to Help Identify Child,” the post began. “On Friday October 20th, 2017 the Galveston Police Department recovered the body of a male child on the beach near the 700 block of Seawall Blvd. When found, the child was in the water, near the shoreline and was found unclothed. At the time of the discovery, no family or friends were present to claim or identify the child. The Galveston Police Department subsequently launched an investigation to identify this child and the circumstances surrounding his death.”

The post explains the decision to release the disturbing photo. “In an effort to exhaust all possible routes to identify ‘Little Jacob,’ the Galveston Police Department is now releasing a photograph of the boy in hopes that someone seeing the true likeness of the child will confirm their suspicions that they know who this is and that they can help us identify him and the circumstances surrounding his death,” the statement reads.

“We continue to believe that someone out there knows this child. Someone has seen him. This child deserves to be identified and properly laid to rest but for this to happen, input from the public is crucial.” The post then added that there is a $10,000 reward for “the successful identification and location of the family members caring for this young boy at the time of his disappearance.” Although found in water, the boy did not drown, according to the medical examiner. It’s believed he died around October 17 or 18 and had been in the water 12-48 hours prior to being found.

“Little Jacob showed signs of neglect and injuries consistent with abuse; however, none of the injuries appeared to have been fatal,” Galveston Police said in their Facebook post. “Based on reverse drift analyses conducted by the US Coast Guard and the National Weather Service, it is believed that Little Jacob’s body was put into the water locally, in the Galveston County area.” While authorities still do not know the cause of Little Jacob’s death, they are currently investigating it as a homicide.

To report any information regarding Little Jacob, the public is encouraged to call 1-800-CALL-FBI.

Tell us, HollywoodLifers — are you surprised police released the image of the boy’s body?