Crime
Body of missing 7-year-old Liam King found in a pond
UPDATE: It is with great sadness that we share the following update.
It is with heavy hearts that we share the body of 7-year-old Liam King was discovered this morning in a pond near the area where he was initally reported missing.
We are absolutely devastated. I wish more than anything that we had a different outcomeโfor Liamโs family, for our community, and for the hundreds of first responders and volunteers who poured their hearts into finding him alive.
Over the past two days, youโve seen an extraordinary effort from all involved in this search. This loss is truly heartbreaking. We ask everyone to please continue to keep Liamโs family in your thoughts and prayers.
Liamโs death remains an active investigation.
ORIGINAL REPORT:
ASHEBORO, N.C. โ A massive search effort is underway in Randolph County for a missing 7-year-old boy, Liam King, who was reported missing late Sunday morning after wandering away from a home on Forest Hills Drive in Asheboro.
According to the Randolph County Sheriffโs Office, deputies received the report of the missing child at approximately 11:00 a.m. Sunday, September 7.
Liam, who has cognitive impairments and is nonverbal, was visiting a relative at the residence when he disappeared.
Sheriff Greg Seabolt confirmed that investigators do not believe Liam was abducted or that foul play is involved, but that he may be lost, disoriented, and at risk.
Hundreds of officers and search crews from the Randolph County Sheriffโs Office, North Carolina Department of Adult Corrections, multiple search and rescue teams, and federal partners including the FBI have been deployed in the search.
Drones, helicopters, K-9 teams, and ground units have canvassed a 2,500-meter radius around the home where Liam was last seen.
Authorities are focusing particular attention on nearby ponds, streams, and other bodies of water, as Sheriff Seabolt noted Liam is known to be fascinated with water.
Deputies said Liam was last seen wearing a light blue, black, and gray Nike sweatshirt, a gray Nike T-shirt, black sweatpants, blue Sonic-themed socks, and tan sneakers.
He is described as approximately 3 feet 5 inches tall, weighing 55 pounds, with shoulder-length dark hair and brown eyes.
Officials caution that because Liam is nonverbal, he may run if approached by strangers.
The father of missing 7-year-old Liam King has been identified as Jose Luis Reyes, who reportedly shared on Facebook that the family is looking for a pair of pants & sweater as the search continues. Reyes works as a manager at a Mexican restaurant and is originally from Mexico.
Liamโs mother has been identified as Brenda Victoria King, a resident of Asheboro, North Carolina.
Court records indicate that she was convicted of larceny in 2016 and received a suspended prison sentence in that case.
This is Liam King when he was 4 months old with his mother & father. Brenda King & Jose Luis Reyes. It appears Brenda & Jose have been separated for numerous years.
To aid in the search, deputies have been broadcasting music and television shows Liam enjoys in hopes of drawing him out of hiding, but those efforts have so far been unsuccessful.
The Sheriffโs Office released a public statement Monday morning:
*โThe Randolph County Sheriffโs Office is using every resource available to find this little boy. That includes many law enforcement partners, state, local, and federal resources, and other first responders who have been searching on the ground and in the air since we first received the call that he was missing. We will continue to conduct extensive searches and interviews. Therefore, you will continue to notice an enhanced law enforcement presence in the area where he was last seen. Liam is a member of our community, and we will use every means possible to bring him home.
To ensure the integrity of the tracking efforts currently underway, we kindly ask that no one enter the area at this time unless you have been sent out from the command post. Even a well-intentioned movement could compromise valuable tracks. Thank you for your understanding and support.
Every second counts when a child is missing, especially after the chilly night we just had. Our focus is to find Liam as quickly as possible. No piece of information is too small or insignificant.โ*
Authorities have urged anyone who sees Liam, or who may have relevant information, to immediately call 911.
The search remains active and ongoing.
Crime
Mustapha Kharbouch Now-Deleted 2024 Manifesto Published in Institute for Palestine Studies Recovered
Brown University has removed multiple online references to student activist Mustapha Kharbouch in the days following a deadly campus shooting, a move that has drawn public attention amid heightened online speculationโdespite law enforcement officials confirming that no suspects or persons of interest have been identified in the investigation.
Archived versions of Brown University webpages show that Kharbouch, a first-year student at the time, was previously listed in several university-affiliated roles, including as a student assistant and Cultural Programming Coordinator connected to the Global Brown Center.
His academic interests were described as focusing on International and Public Affairs and Anthropology, with involvement in Middle Eastโfocused academic, cultural, and student programming.
Those pages are no longer accessible, and Kharbouchโs social media accounts have also been deactivated.
A verified buyer from the United States with the name “Mustapha K.” reviewed a 9MM muzzle brake through the Wing Tactical website on December 29th, 2024 โ the same caliber used in the Brown shooting.
There are approximately a few hundred people in the entire United States with that first name + last initial combination.
University officials have not issued a public explanation for the removal of the online profiles.
The changes occurred as online speculation intensified in the immediate aftermath of the shooting, with social media users circulating screenshots of archived university pages and past writings associated with Kharbouch.
Among the materials resurfaced by online users was a 2024 essay authored by Kharbouch and published by the Institute for Palestine Studies as part of a special student essay series titled Genocide in Gaza: Student Essays โ Brown University Encampment 2024.
The essay, titled โI Hear the Voice of My Ancestors Calling: From the Camps to the Campus,โ was published on August 13, 2024, months before the shooting. The piece is a first-person reflective essay examining Palestinian identity, intergenerational memory, student activism, and questions of hope amid displacement, war, and protest.
The article includes poetic excerpts adapted from โAncestors Song,โ a chant popularized during student-led Palestine solidarity actions at Brown University, and documents Kharbouchโs participation in campus organizing efforts, including sit-ins, hunger strikes, rallies, and the Brown Gaza Solidarity Encampment.
The essay situates these experiences within a broader discussion of decolonial thought, feminist theory, and Palestinian history, including reflections on the 1948 Nakba and the authorโs family history as a third-generation stateless Palestinian refugee raised in Lebanon.
The content of the essay is ideological, autobiographical, and academic in nature.
There is no reference to violence on campus, nor any indication of intent or planning related to criminal activity.
The Institute for Palestine Studies has not issued any statement suggesting the piece is under review or connected to the shooting.
Despite widespread online conjecture, law enforcement agencies, including the FBI and Providence Police, have not named Mustapha Kharbouch as a suspect or person of interest, and have publicly stated that there is no evidence linking him to the shooting.
Investigators have emphasized that the case remains active and that conclusions are being guided strictly by verified evidence.
Authorities have cautioned against drawing inferences from online speculation, warning that unsubstantiated claims can compromise investigations and cause undue harm to individuals not implicated by facts.
Media analysts and campus observers have suggested that Brown Universityโs decision to remove online references may have been taken as a protective or precautionary measure, particularly as misinformation and harassment proliferated across social media platforms following the attack.
Similar actions have been taken by institutions in other high-profile incidents to limit doxxing, targeted harassment, or the misinterpretation of publicly available biographical information during periods of heightened tension.
Brown University has not confirmed whether the removals were temporary, administrative, or safety-related in nature.
Authorities continue to urge the public to rely on confirmed information released by law enforcement and to avoid amplifying unverified narratives.
As of the most recent update, no arrests have been announced, no individuals have been publicly identified as suspects, and the investigation remains ongoing.
Anyone with credible information related to the shooting has been asked to contact investigators directly.