APPLE VALLEY – (INT) – An exhaustive 8-week search of a Victorville landfill for a missing 6-year-old boy is over.

An estimated 7,000 tons of material was examined in hopes of finding the remains of Duke Flores, but sheriff’s investigators announced Tuesday they came up empty-handed.

Prosecutors say they will go ahead with their case against the boy’s mother, Jackee Contreras, and his aunt, Jennifer Contreras. Both have denied murder charges.

Last April 25th, Duke’s grandmother requested deputies conduct a welfare check on her 6-year-old grandson as she had not seen him and was becoming concerned for his well-being.

Sheriff’s detectives have reason to believe that Jackee and Jennifer, both 29, hold responsibility for the disappearance and death of Duke. They accuse the sisters of discarding the boy’s body in a dumpster near the family home in Apple Valley.

“This is not the outcome we had hoped for,” Sheriff John McMahon said, “but we knew going into this search that there was a chance we would not locate Duke.”

Story Date: July 1, 2019