The body of missing Houston boy Samuel Olson has been found and police say his father’s girlfriend is connected to the incident.
During a Wednesday morning press conference, Houston police said Theresa Balboa has been arrested in connection with the death of 6-year-old Samuel. Balboa was found at a Best Western motel in Jasper on Tuesday evening, over an hour away from Houston.
Authorities indicated they were tipped off to the motel off of West Gibson Street at around 6 p.m. Tuesday via a Crime Stoppers tipster. Jasper Police Chief Gerald Hall said although the body has not been officially identified, they strongly believe it to be Samuel.
The child’s body was found inside a tote bag inside room number 106. Hall said there were signs that the boy had been there for a while, Fox 4 reports. Investigators are currently reviewing security camera footage at the motel.
Theresa Balboa is currently facing charges of tampering with evidence, police said. Additional charges could follow. Police said she told numerous inconsistent stories.
No one else has been arrested in connection with the incident and no motive is yet known. The boy’s father is not a suspect at this time, police said.
As CrimeOnline previously reported, Samuel was reportedly last seen Thursday in Houston, in the 8800 block of McAvoy Drive. According to Samuel’s grandmother, Tanya Olson, someone dressed up as a cop showed up with the boy’s mother and took him. Tanya said Samuel was being cared for by a friend of his father’s girlfriend when the incident happened.
On Tuesday, the Houston police announced that no one outside of the boy’s family had seen him since April 30, when he was seen at Holbrook Elementary in Cy-Fair ISD.
“It’s cause for concern,” public information officer for the Houston Police Department, Kese Smith, told Newsweek.
The father’s girlfriend, identified as Theresa Balboa, reportedly insists that she last saw Samuel on Thursday.
“I was going to take Sam to school when his mother showed up with the police officer, or who I was under the impression to be a police officer, and they demanded me to release Sam,” Balboa said.
Houston Police Department Executive Assistant Larry Satterwhite said they have not been to verify the accuracy of Balboa’s claims.
“All we have are reports. The last time we know, for a fact, he was in school and that was April 30th,” Satterwhite added.
According to Satterwhite, Samuel’s biological mother and father share custody of him. Both parents told authorities that they do not have their son and have no idea where he is.
One of the last known places Sam was seen at was reportedly a southeast Houston apartment complex off of Gulf Breeze. Satterwhite said one of Balboa’s friends lives at the complex, but during Wednesday’s press conference, police said Balboa lived at the complex with a male.
On Monday, authorities conducted a search warrant of the apartment and impounded a vehicle.
Meanwhile, Texas EquuSearch founder Tim Miller, who assisted with the search. said on Tuesday he had a sinking feeling about the case.
“I’ve worked many, many of these cases. I don’t have a good feeling,” Miller said. “Nobody can find out anybody that’s credible that can tell us the last time he was seen and where.”
Anyone with information on the case should call 911, or the Houston Police Department Missing Persons Unit at 832-394-1840.
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[Feature Photo: Sam Olson/Police Handout; Screenshot via ABC 13]
