Missing Marshalltown teen found dead after dayslong search

MARSHALLTOWN, Ia. — A missing 13-year-old boy was found dead five days into the search for the Marshalltown teen, police said Sunday.

Corey Brown's body was found in a secluded area on the west side of the city, police said in a news release. The police said that no criminal activity was suspected but that many scenarios were still being investigated. The temperature dipped below zero three straight days after Brown went missing.

Brown was last seen Tuesday night, when he left his parents’ home on Marshalltown's south side after having a "disciplinary discussion" in which his phone was taken away, Police Chief Michael Tupper said at a news conference Thursday.

"The community obviously is pretty devastated,” said Marshalltown native Jonathan Bizios on Sunday. “I think the majority of us were expecting some better news. I guess that's kind of human nature — to think the best."

Bizios, the operator of the Minuteman Inc. print shop in Marshalltown, made more than 1,000 fliers featuring Brown’s face that were plastered around town last week.

“I think that everybody in town really sort of identifies with how the family is feeling right now,” said Bizios, 38. “None of us can really imagine what (the family is) going through."

He has already heard talk of the community organizing to support the family, though he didn’t know of any specifics Sunday.

Authorities declined to comment further Sunday. Brown's family, through police, asked that their privacy be respected. Friends, neighbors and other residents also declined to or couldn't be reached to comment.

Police did not specify the location where the body was found or whether that area had been searched over the previous five days. It's not publicly known the condition of Brown's body or how long he might have been at the location where he was found. Police have not said whether they received any useful tips during their search.

Further details will be released when they become available, police said in Sunday's release.

"Our hearts bleed for the Brown family," Marshalltown Mayor Joel Greer said in a written statement Sunday. "The whole city and all well-wishers will keep them in our thoughts and continue our prayers for them."

The Marshalltown school district also released a written statement Sunday about Brown's death: "Our thoughts and deepest condolences go out to the Brown family and those close to Corey. He was loved by many and will be deeply missed." Counselors will assist students at Miller Middle School and Marshalltown High School.

When Brown didn't turn up immediately after he left home, concern for the eighth-grader's well-being was considerable because of several inches of new snow that fell Tuesday and Wednesday and the brutally cold low temperatures that have befallen the area every night since. Friday's low was 12 degrees below zero, according to the National Weather Service.

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A couple hundred people, many in snowsuits and winter boots, offered Wednesday to help police. But officials, after thanking them for their dedication, sent the volunteers on their way so that the physical search could be handled by a few dozen trained professionals.

Green ribbons were tied around trees this weekend and neighbors replaced porch lights with green bulbs in support of finding Brown. Green was Brown's favorite color.

Property owners in Marshalltown had been asked to closely check their homes, garages, sheds and any other buildings where Brown could have taken shelter.

Posters with Brown's face filled windows on Main Street, which is still recovering from a devastating tornado in July.

► More:Months after brutal tornado, Marshalltown bands together again, this time for missing Corey Brown

The library director, Sarah Rosenblum, said before Brown was found that she couldn't help but relate this trial to the twister that plowed through the city of 27,000, damaging numerous buildings, including the downtown courthouse. Memories are now tied to a timeline marked “before the tornado and after the tornado,” she said.

"It's been a hard six months, and now ... this is, I wouldn’t say a bookend to the first six months, but it's certainly been a difficult situation," Rosenblum said, calling Brown's disappearance "another really hard blow."

Greer, the mayor, said Saturday that he has seen Marshalltown come together in ways he couldn't imagine during his first year in office.

“Now, when we have another ... tragedy, we’re kind of geared up to help each other, communicate, with each other," he said.

Charlotte Santana, 35, of Marshalltown estimated in an interview Saturday that every third post on her Facebook feed was related to the search.

“It’s definitely what people are living right now," she said before Brown was found.

Parishioners prayed throughout the search at St. Henry Catholic Church. Lisa Dougall, a friend of Brown’s parents, handed out green pins with her two daughters Saturday, saying it was just one way the community was trying to raise awareness. Brown's parents made a public direct plea to him to come him at the library on Thursday.

Anyone with information about Brown's death is encouraged to call the Marshalltown Police Department at 641-754-5725 or Crime Stoppers at 641-753-1234. Information can also be sent by texting the word "marshall" with any information to 274637 or online at MarshallCountyCS.com.