Internal police investigation launched after missing boy’s body found in metro-east
The St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department has opened an Internal Affairs investigation after the after the remains of a child were discovered this week in a wooded area of the Metro East, two years after a St. Louis woman reported her son missing.
Police Chief Robert Tracy announced the review Thursday, saying the department will examine why two years elapsed despite the filing of multiple missing persons reports and an investigation by the department’s Juvenile Division. Tracy said the family “deserves answers” and pledged transparency and accountability throughout the review.
According to SLMPD, the child’s mother first reported her 2-year-old son missing to the department in July 2024, telling investigators he had last been seen with his father. Detectives followed multiple leads and interviewed witnesses, but police said the investigation was complicated by conflicting statements and information. The police department said prosecutors ultimately declined to file charges at that time.
The investigation received renewed attention last month when the child’s mother filed another missing persons report with the Desloge Police Department in St. Francois County. That report led to a multi-agency investigation involving the FBI, Illinois law enforcement agencies and the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department. Authorities found the child’s remains Wednesday night in Stookey Township near Belleville.
St. Louis homicide detectives are assisting in the death investigation alongside the FBI and other local and regional law enforcement partners, according to the city police department. It described the investigation as active and ongoing.
“Accountability is not optional,” Tracy said at a news conference Thursday night. “We owe this family and our community an honest review of our actions.”
The remains have not been positively identified; police said the St. Clair County Coroner’s office is still working on forensic examinations. The boy’s mother, Miranda Randazzo, made multiple posts on social media identifying her missing child as Ronnell Jones Jr. She repeatedly demanded answers and criticized the police process.
“I have reached out to St. Louis city police department via phone many times to be hung up on and told my son is with his father,” she wrote on Facebook in August 2024.
The Desloge Police Department says it first began a parental kidnapping investigation on June 12, 2026. It then referred the case to the St. Francois County prosecutor’s office for charges.
On June 29, prosecutors charged 32-year-old Ronnell Marquese Jones with parental kidnapping. Kirstie Dora, 35, was also charged with parental kidnapping. Both are being held without bond.
Timeline of events
On Thursday evening, St. Louis police released a timeline that includes the steps they say detectives took during the investigation:
May 2024: Investigators believe the child disappeared before law enforcement became involved. The child’s mother later told police the last time she saw him was with his father. The parents shared custody.
July 2024: The child’s mother files a missing persons report with the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department. Detectives with the Juvenile Division begin investigating and interview numerous people and work to verify multiple, often conflicting, statements from both the mother and the father during the investigation. The father tells detectives the child is living with an Amish community in Mississippi and claims he had recently seen him. Detectives also identify a person of interest in the disappearance.
Early 2025: SLMPD detectives submit an application for parental kidnapping charges to the St. Louis circuit attorney’s office. Prosecutors request additional investigative work before making charging decisions.
June 2026: The child’s mother files another police report with the Desloge Police Department, prompting a renewed investigation.
July 2026: The St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department, Desloge Police Department and multiple local, state and federal law enforcement agencies work together, leading to the discovery of the remains in Stookey Township, Illinois.
Current: SLMPD opens an Internal Affairs investigation to review its handling of the missing child case while the criminal investigation into the child’s death continues.