United Cajun Navy, K9s search for missing teenager’s remains

BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) - The search continues for the remains of missing 15-year-old Ja’Derrius Minnieweather, even after a suspect was arrested and charged with his murder.

Maurice Parms, 51, was arrested over the weekend in connection with Minnieweather’s death. Parms is charged with first-degree murder.

RELATED: BRPD announces death of missing Baton Rouge teen; suspect arrested

Evidence from police suggests Minnieweather was beaten to death. According to the arrest warrant, Parms is accused of stashing the teen’s body and tossing evidence after the attack. But more than two weeks later, Minnieweather’s body has still not been found.

He was last seen by his family in Baton Rouge, reportedly in the Ghost Town area, on June 5.

Last week, the United Cajun Navy joined the search for Minniweather, which remains ongoing days after a suspect was arrested. The United Cajun Navy says they have at least four crews, along with K9 dogs and resources, combing through high-traffic areas in Baton Rouge to search for the teen. They say they will not stop until the family has closure.

“I went to the mom after that perp walk after the press conference and when I saw the tears in her eyes, that did it again — every day she’s struggling, the whole family is, so if there’s nothing more that drives me, it’s seeing that family,” UCN Incident Commander Josh Gill told WAFB.

Now, authorities and UCN are asking the public to aid them in the search, with an anonymous Crime Stoppers tip line (225) 344-STOP.

“The streets are gonna start to talk. The streets need to listen and somebody there is gonna put two or two together and say ‘hey here’s what happened,’” Gill said. “Just know we’re not gonna rest on this.”

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