Last Known People to See Kyrian Knox Won't Cooperate with Police

Chicago detectives say the two people left in charge of Kyrian Knox in Rockford while his mother moved to Chicago are considered witnesses in the death investigation, but the pair won’t cooperate with police.

Chicago police know where Kamel Harris and Danyelle Foggs are, but they haven’t returned police requests for contact, detectives said during a Thursday news conference.

Dean Andrews, chief of detectives, called this the “part of the investigation that has been extremely frustrating for me, as well as the detectives and supervisors that have been working on the case.“

He said taking the next step in this investigation is going to be “very difficult” without their cooperation.

Kevin Duffin, commander of Area North detectives, said Harris gave statements to Rockford police saying three people, a man and two women, approached him and said they were friends with Kyrian’s mother, Lanisha Knox. Harris told Rockford police he gave Kyrian to these people.

Foggs corroborated Harris’ story with Rockford police, but neither has answered Chicago police requests for more information about what happened.

Andrews said it’s not uncommon for the Chicago Police Department to have difficulty getting people to cooperate with investigations, and not necessarily because of guilt, but because of personal reasons, fear or a “no snitch” culture.

Lanisha Knox had left Kyrian on Aug. 18 with Harris and Foggs, her trusted friends, while she moved from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, to Chicago.

Kyrian was reported missing to Rockford police Sept. 17.

A child’s dismembered foot was found Sept. 5 in the Garfield Park lagoon, and another foot, two hands and a head were found that night and Sept. 6.

DNA sent to the FBI crime lab in Quantico, Virginia, from the body parts and from Lanisha Knox were analyzed and confirmed Nov. 4 the remains belonged to Kyrian.

“This has been a very frustrating investigation, and we know we can advance it if they would come and talk to us,” Duffin said. “It may be something as simple as Mr. Harris coming in and ... meeting with a sketch artist to give us some indication of who this person was that you turned the baby over to.”

Read more on this story:

• Garfield Park Lagoon Toddler Identified as Missing Rockford Boy
• DNA of Garfield Park Lagoon Toddler Not a Match for Missing Gary Boy: FBI
• Chicago Police Checking DNA for Links to Garfield Park Lagoon Toddler
• No New Remains Found as Garfield Park Lagoon Search Ends
• Police Sketch Shows What Dismembered Toddler May Have Looked Like
• Chicago Police Will ‘Stop at Nothing’ to Find Person Responsible for Dismembered Child in Lagoon
• Police to Drain Lagoon Where Child’s Severed Limbs and Head Were Found

Image: left, an artist’s sketch of the baby found in the lagoon. Right, Kyrian Knox, via the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children