The family and friends of a missing 5-year-old from Fitchburg, Massachusetts are continuing their search to find the boy who has been missing since September, the Boston Globe reported.
Jeremiah Oliver was last seen in September though his disappearance was only made public in December, after his 7-year-old sister told school officials that her mother's boyfriend was abusing her.
On Saturday, about 35 people congregated in a parking lot across from the boy's home before beginning their search in two spots -- a nearby playground, where neighbors say they saw the boy playing a lot, and a wooded area behind the house where Sierra's family lives.
Authorities in Massachusetts are treating the case as a potential homicide. An attorney for 28-year-old Elsa Oliver, the boy's mother, said she is "in denial to the point of unreality" about the entire situation of events.
The mother and her boyfriend, Alberto Sierra Jr., 23, are being held on child abuse charges. Earlier this week, a judge ordered Sierra to be held without bail and set Oliver's at $100,000 though she is being held indefinitely for contempt of juvenile court, ordered to show her son.
The boy's mother is also undergoing a court-ordered competency evaluation.
According to the report in the Boston Globe, relatives of the boy's family suggest Sierra is not cooperating with authorities. In addition, lawyer James G. Reardon Jr. said Elsa Oliver has a history of domestic abuse and psychological issues.
"I assume that she is the victim of some significant domestic violence," Reardon said, detailing his client's calm and emotionless demeanor while dealing with such serious charges. "I'm not certain she's processing what really is occurring right now . . . I don't get any useful information out of her."
However, Reardon added that those who have been critical of his client should wait until the legal process unfolds. He also said this case has been the most unusual of his entire career.
"It's an extraordinary case with a difficult future," he said. "You have a child missing for so long, and then you have several people involved with unusual and amorphous backgrounds, and I have a client who has some significant degree of mental or emotional problems."
