Parents of Missing Boy No Longer Cooperating With Police: Cops

CRYSTAL LAKE, IL — As the investigation continues into the disappearance of a missing 5-year-old boy, both of his parents have stopped cooperating with police, authorities said Saturday. Andrew "AJ" Freund has been missing since Wednesday night, and on Friday the Department of Children and Family Services took Andrew's younger brother into custody, a DCFS spokesman told Patch. The agency says it has a detailed a long history of interactions with the child's family dating back to Oct. 16, 2013, when Andrew was born with opiates in his system.

"DCFS took the younger brother into custody under a safety plan on Wednesday," Jason Strokosch, the agency's director of communications, told Patch. "He is staying in a different home and as long as the specific guidelines of the safety plan are met, he will remain there."

Strokosch said since the investigation is ongoing, he can’t provide any more details.

DCFS outlined the family's history with the agency, saying as an infant, Andrew was taken into protective custody at less than a month old on Nov. 12, 2013, and placed in a foster home two days later.

Andrew did not return home until June 2015, nearly two years later. The case was closed on April 21, 2016. Allegations of neglect against mother JoAnn Cunningham and father Andrew Freund Sr. were found to be unfounded in March 2018, when Cunningham agreed to reenter drug treatment, DCFS said. Allegations of neglect against the mother were again determined to be unfounded on Dec. 12, 2018, according to DCFS.

Cunningham is reportedly no longer speaking with Crystal Lake police as they continue to investigate her son's disappearance, according to NBC. Cunningham's attorney, George Kililis, spoke to reporters outside the Freund family home Friday afternoon and said she stopped cooperating with police when she began to feel she was being treated as a suspect.

“Ms. Cunningham had nothing to do with the disappearance,” attorney George Kililis told reporters.

Police said Saturday the boy's father, Andrew Freund Sr., is also no longer cooperating with the investigation.

“The fact that both parents have stopped cooperating with us certainly raises our suspicions,” Crystal Lake police Chief Jim Black told the Chicago Tribune.

On Saturday, Freund was escorted away from his home by plainclothes police officers in an unmarked police car, according to the Chicago Tribune. He was not in handcuffs. Freund left the police department around 5 p.m., lit a cigarette and walked toward his home, which is not far from the police department.

When a reporter questioned him on what happened at the police department, he said, "nothing definitive, yet." When asked how he'd been getting through the days since Andrew went missing, he said, "Hell. It’s been hell. Hell on earth.’’

Both Cunningham, who is seven months pregnant, and Andrew Freund Sr., attended a vigil Saturday evening for their son. The prayer vigil was held at Main Beach. WGN reports Cunningham and Andrew Freund Sr. did not speak to each other while at the vigil.

On Friday, authorities said they'd shifted their focus to the Freund home and do not believe Andrew walked away from his house on foot or was abducted.

“In reviewing all investigative information thus far, there is no indication that would lead police to believe that an abduction had taken place. At this point, the police department has no reason to believe there is a threat to the community,” Deputy Chief Thomas Kotlowski said in a news release. “Information obtained currently has police focusing on the residence.”

Police raided the Freund home late Friday afternoon, the Chicago Tribune reported in a Friday article.

Andrew Freund Sr. also first spoke to reporters on Friday, making a plea for his son's return, according to the Tribune: “AJ, please come home. We love you very much. You’re not in any trouble. We’re just worried to death. Please, please come home.”

Authorities initially said Andrew was last seen at around 9 p.m. Wednesday night. His parents told police they put him to bed Wednesday and could not find him in the home when they woke up Thursday morning, according to a news release from the Crystal Lake Police Department. Andrew's parents reported him missing Thursday morning.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children are assisting local authorities in the ongoing investigation, police said.

During the last 24 hours, several police search and rescue canine units, trained specifically to locate people, were used to try to locate Andrew, Kotlowski said. The canine teams only picked up Andrew's scent within the residence, indicating the 5-year-old did not walk away on foot.

In total, 15 police agencies responded to assist Thursday with the investigation and search effort. Police also used four drones.

“Approximately 373 acres were covered during a foot search and approximately 497 acres were covered via aerial search by drones,” Kotlowski said.

On Thursday evening, the police department requested the activation of a sonar team to scan areas of Crystal Lake. The lake is just over a half-mile away from the Freund’s home in the 0 to 100 block of Dole Avenue.

Boat and sonar technicians used cameras to search under all the docks and piers along the entire shoreline of Crystal Lake and used side scan sonar techniques within the lake itself off of the Main Beach area, police said.

A helicopter hovered over the lake and there was a large police presence at Lake Park during the search Thursday.

The sonar teams concluded their search at about 10 p.m. Thursday without locating anything, police said.

Authorities are continuing to investigate all possible leads but did not release any information regarding any specific suspicious activity that lead to Andrew’s disappearance.

Also on Thursday, officers walked neighborhoods around the area where Andrew was reported missing. Police dogs were used to search the Freunds' cars, according to CBS Chicago. Bloodhounds were used to track the young boy's scent, and officers talked with neighbors and checked garbage cans.

As of early Friday, the police presence along the lake had cleared. There were no helicopters overhead and no noticeable activity at the home where Andrew was last seen. The home's garage was open and a kids swimming pool and belongings were scattered inside.

ABC 7 reported Thursday the area around the Crystal Lake home was considered a crime scene on Thursday. Kotlowski told Patch early Thursday evening he could not confirm that information.

“We are still searching for Andrew," he wrote in an email response. "No one is in custody."

An AMBER alert was never issued, police said. Police did send out updates to media and on their Facebook page throughout the day regarding Andrew after he was reported missing.

Crystal Lake police blocked off the area around the Dole Avenue home. Just before 5 p.m. Thursday, a sheriff's office's K9 officer and handler could be seen entering the home.

As of 6:30 p.m., officers could be seen going in and out of the home along Dole Avenue. Several media outlets lined the street.

Patch has live video from the scene along Dole Avenue as of 6:30 p.m. on the Crystal Lake-Cary Facebook page.

Neighbors spoke with ABC 7 saying the boy, who is not yet in school, could often be seen playing outside. One neighbor reported the family kept to themselves and they did not know much about them.

Overall, though, residents throughout the normally quiet community of Crystal Lake were shaken over the young boys’ disappearance.

“We don't know if he wandered out. That was the first thought - did he wander out? But nobody's seen him, so nobody has any clue whatsoever," neighbor Janelle Butler told ABC7.

Residents walked the streets around the home Thursday evening and have been looking for Andrew in their backyards, play houses and elsewhere throughout town.

Others kept a watchful eye, driving around the neighborhood where Andrew went missing with the hopes of spotting the young boy.

"I just drove around and checked parks and areas. But I saw a lot of houses had the small kid houses in theirs yards. It would be a great hiding place from the cold and rain. If people check those areas," one woman wrote on the Crystal Lake Police Department Facebook page.

Butler told the Northwest Herald police searched homes and yards in the Dole Avenue area.

"They searched everybody's yard, my garage. Everyone around here," she said. "Heartbroken, is all I can say. It doesn't happen here. It's Crystal Lake. ... This is a really quiet, safe part of Crystal Lake."

Local residents were also posting comments on the Crystal Lake Police Department Facebook page, asking if any official searches were being coordinated and checking to see how the public could aid in the search.

On Friday, police thanked the public for their concern.

“At this time, if the public is looking to assist, we are asking that you search your property and that you report anything suspicious to the Crystal Lake Police Department,” Kotlowski said.

Additionally, the Crystal Lake Police Department encourages anyone with information related to this case to contact the Crystal Lake Police Department at 815-356-3620. Anyone with a cell phone can send an anonymous tip to the Crystal Lake Police Department by texting the word CLPDTIP along with the tip information to 847411 (tip411). Normal text messaging rates do apply.

Patch will continue updating this breaking news story as more information becomes available. Sign up for Crystal Lake Patch breaking news alerts for updates sent to your email inbox and phone.