SELLERSBURG, Ind. (WDRB) -- Indiana State Police is reaching out to agencies across the country in search of the identity of a 5-year-old boy found dead Saturday inside a suitcase in rural Washington County.

ISP Sgt. Carey Huls said the body of the boy was found Saturday night by a mushroom hunter in a heavily wooded area of Washington County, approximately 80 feet off a rural road near New Pekin.

Police are asking the public for help identifying the boy, whom Huls described as a Black boy about 4 feet tall with a slim build and short hair. On Tuesday, ISP said the boy was discovered inside a suitcase with Las Vegas logos wrapped around it.

Suitcase found in Washington County

This photo released by Indiana State Police dated April 19, 2022, shows the suitcase found in rural Washington County, Ind. (Indiana State Police)

On Wednesday, WDRB News sat down for an extended conversation with Huls at the ISP Post in Sellersburg leading the investigation. He said they searching agencies far and wide, because the child come have come from anywhere.

"We're trying to spread that net as far as we can until we get that call, that information, that leads to that tip of the identification," Huls said. "So we've spoken with numerous media outlets across the country, including national media outlets, obviously our social media, those types of things. It's getting bigger by the day. And we're thankful for that because, we want it to keep getting bigger until we get that information."

Huls said the No. 1 question remains simple: Who is the boy they found inside the suitcase?

"We really want to know who he is," Huls said. "Because somebody had to take care of him, and somebody's not talking. Whoever was responsible for this young man — for his care, for his well-being — nobody's stepped forward. Now, there's lots of different answers that could answer why that is, but right now, we need to know who that person or people were that were responsible for him so we can find out exactly what happened. And that will ultimately change the direction of this investigation."

An autopsy was conducted on the boy Tuesday but it didn't determine how he died, Huls said. Police determined that he was 5 years old from dental records and they're still waiting toxicology results, which could take three to six weeks.

Huls said they cannot speak to whether there was foul play or not in the boy's death.

"We're obviously not going to do anything that will jeopardize our case, but people can take it at face value when you have a child who's 5, they don't take care of themselves," he said. "They need somebody to take care of them and they can't put themselves in a suitcase and wind up in the middle of the woods on their own. So, obviously, something's out of place here, and we're looking for the answers for that."

A woman, who didn't give her name Tuesday, lives near where the body was found. She called it heartbreaking.

"Devastating to our community," she said. "How could someone do this to such an innocent child?"

On Monday, ISP created a tip line dedicate for information on the identity of the young boy. That number is 1-888-437-6432.

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