Man Thinks He's the Boy Who's Been Missing for 25 Years

Twenty-five years ago this week, a woman told police her 4-year-old son had disappeared while they were shopping at a mall in a Detroit suburb. The child was never found. Now, WDIV reports, a man who says he believes he's that boy has given a DNA sample to police in hopes of proving it. Police learned about the man when he posted doubts about his identity on Facebook and his belief that he was the missing D'Wan Sims, per the Detroit Free Press. He went to the Livonia police station this week to give the DNA sample. Police have contacted the mother for a DNA sample but don't know yet whether she'll provide one. She reportedly blocked the man on Facebook Messenger when he tried to contact her.

In 1994, Dwanna Harris was under suspicion in the disappearance of D'Wan. She showed up on surveillance video of Wonderland Mall, but her son didn't. An officer who worked the case said this week, "We looked at all of the video, we checked everything, and we never saw" D'Wan. Tips poured in from the public, including one that the child was in Florida, and police conducted random searches. Harris insisted she was innocent. "The only thing that I want the public to know, is that my only concern is finding my son," she said then at a press conference. "Whoever has my baby, I know he’s safe, and I know you’re taking good care of him. ... We’ve got your Christmas ready, so, just come home," Harris said. The next step is up to Harris. "We are going to reach out, obviously, to the family and provide his information, to see if they want to contact him," police said. (More missing child stories.)