The Merrimack Police Department aided with the help of state police and the New Hampshire Department of Justice immediately began an investigation where it was discovered Elijah was never reported missing to authorities prior to that time.
Police were at a waterfront property on Sunset Drive in Merrimack Friday and Saturday. It's the last known location and home of Elijah.
The New Hampshire State Police Marine Patrol launched a boat and was searching a lake behind the property on Saturday.
DCYF became aware on Friday that no one had reported Elijah (Eli) Lewis as missing during the past six months.
seacoastcurrent.com
State Police said investigators want to speak with his mother, Danielle Denise Dauphinais, 35, who may be with Joseph Stapf, 30, and driving a red or maroon 2007 Toyota Tundra with New Hampshire license plate JOJOD78. Police did not disclose their hometowns or the last time they were seen.
Dauphinais is described as 5 foot 4 inches and approximately 165 lbs with brown hair and brown eyes.
Stapf is described as 5 foot 10 inches tall and approximately 170 lbs with brown hair and green eyes.
It looks like they can't locate his mother either (from first link). Is she running or hiding him? Would she have a reason to hide him (custody issues / DCYF)?
Authorities are also looking to speak with Elijah's mother, 35-year-old Danielle Denise Dauphinais and 30-year-old Joseph Stapf. Officials said Dauphinais is described as 5' 4" tall with brown hair, brown eyes and about 165 lbs. Stapf is 5' 10" with brown hair, green eyes and about 170 lbs.
They were last seen driving a 2007 Toyota Tundra with New Hampshire license plate JOJOD78.
Soooo, what does Stapf's mother have to say about where her son is? What do the other children have to say? How long ago was Elijah seen compared to how long ago his mother and her boyfriend were seen?
MERRIMACK, N.H. (WHDH) - New Hampshire officials are trying to find a five-year-old who was reported missing this week but hasn’t been seen in six<a class="excerpt-read-more" href="https://whdh.com/news/where-is-elijah-officials-trying-to-find-5-year-old-who-hasnt-been-seen-for-six-months/">Read...
whdh.com
The boy’s mother, 35-year-old Danielle Dauphinais, and her boyfriend, 30-year-old Joseph Stapf, have also vanished. Police said they lived in Staph’s mother’s home, and that other children living in the home were accounted for and safe.
“The first reaction when we were asked if there was a little boy living there was ‘No there’s no little boy living there,'” said Gregg Doppstadt, who lives next door. “Nobody’s seen him, nobody ever saw him outside playing. How can that be?”
The search for missing 5-year-old Elijah Lewis of Merrimack, who authorities said was last seen about six months ago, continues.
www.wmur.com
Search for missing 5-year-old Merrimack boy last seen 6 months ago continues
The search for a missing 5-year-old Merrimack boy, who authorities said was last seen about six months ago, continues.
The New Hampshire Attorney General's Office said Elijah was last seen by independent people 6 months ago. They do not believe this is a situation where the child ran away from home.
"Our search is physically in that area for evidence of where Elijah is, but also we are searching throughout New England to try and find where he is," said New Hampshire Assistant Attorney General Ben Agati.
"At this point, their location is unknown. The one message we have for them if they are out there, please call Merrimack police. Please call New Hampshire State Police. We need to talk to you about where is Elijah and we need that information as soon as possible," Agati said.
Fish and Game Divers spent hours searching the lake while other agencies dig the yard of a Sunset Drive home; a 5-year-old remains missing.
patch.com
Late Sunday, the dive team and crime unit left the scene. Police remained on scene at the house that continued to be surrounded by the crime scene tape.
Shortly after some of the units cleared, a woman who has been identified as the homeowner, came to the property seeking to go inside. She was refused entry onto the property and left the area after speaking to the Merrimack police officer on the scene.
The NH Attorney General's Office said they are still looking to locate the two adults and missing child as part of this investigation.
Saturday Merrimack Police Detectives continued to work with State Police Major Crime at the 7 Sunset Drive location. New Hampshire Marine Patrol and an NHSP K9 Plott Hound trained in search and rescue and a Merrimack Detective circled Naticook Lake searched the water for several hours. K-9 Trooper Barry and his K-9, Oakley, are trained in searching for missing people and water searches.
Detectives photographed the shoreline around the Sunset Drive house and a beach area to the left of the house that is a private beach. A State Police Trooper was seen photographing inside a shed on the property and other areas outside the house.
Authorities said they are still looking for Elijah Lewis, who was last seen six months ago. Read more on Boston.com.
www.boston.com
Mother of missing N.H. 5-year-old arrested in NYC as search continues for boy
The mother of a missing 5-year-old boy from Merrimack, New Hampshire, and her boyfriend were arrested Sunday in New York City on charges of witness tampering and child endangerment as part of the ongoing investigation into the boy’s disappearance.
His mother, 35-year-old Danielle Denise Dauphinais, and Joseph Strapf, 30, were found and arrested in the Bronx on warrants issued as part of the investigation into the 5-year-old’s whereabouts, according to the New Hampshire Attorney General’s Office and police.
“The witness tampering charges allege that they each asked other people to lie about Elijah and where he was living knowing that child protection service workers were searching for Elijah,” the authorities said in a statement. “The endangerment charge alleges that they violated a duty of care, protection or support for Elijah.”
Both Dauphinais and Stapf were expected to be arraigned in the Bronx County Criminal Court on Monday, but New Hampshire authorities have sought extradition of the couple back to the Granite State.
Authorities said they are still looking for Elijah Lewis, who was last seen six months ago. Read more on Boston.com.
www.boston.com
Mother of missing N.H. 5-year-old arrested in NYC as search continues for boy
The mother of a missing 5-year-old boy from Merrimack, New Hampshire, and her boyfriend were arrested Sunday in New York City on charges of witness tampering and child endangerment as part of the ongoing investigation into the boy’s disappearance.
His mother, 35-year-old Danielle Denise Dauphinais, and Joseph Strapf, 30, were found and arrested in the Bronx on warrants issued as part of the investigation into the 5-year-old’s whereabouts, according to the New Hampshire Attorney General’s Office and police.
“The witness tampering charges allege that they each asked other people to lie about Elijah and where he was living knowing that child protection service workers were searching for Elijah,” the authorities said in a statement. “The endangerment charge alleges that they violated a duty of care, protection or support for Elijah.”
Both Dauphinais and Stapf were expected to be arraigned in the Bronx County Criminal Court on Monday, but New Hampshire authorities have sought extradition of the couple back to the Granite State.
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heavy.com
Danielle Dauphinais & Joseph Stapf: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know
Danielle Dauphinais and Joseph Stapf are a New Hampshire couple who have been arrested in connection to the search for missing 5-year-old Merrimack boy Elijah Lewis. Dauphinais is Elijah’s mother. Dauphinais and Stapf were arrested in New York on Sunday, October 17, 2021, three days after police began searching for them and the missing boy. Elijah was last seen six months before he was reported as missing, authorities said. He has not been found.
Dauphinais, 35, and Stapf, 30, are both facing charges in New Hampshire of witness tampering and child endangerment, the New Hampshire Attorney General’s Office said in a press release. “The witness tampering charges allege that they each asked other people to lie about Elijah and where he was living knowing that child protection service workers were searching for Elijah. The endangerment charge alleges that they violated a duty of care, protection or support for Elijah,” the attorney general’s office said in the release. Stapf is not the boy’s father.
1. Danielle Dauphinais & Joseph Stapf Were Arrested in the Bronx Amid a Search for Elijah Lewis at a Pond Near Where He Was Last Seen in New Hampshire, Police Say
Dauphinais and Stapf were arrested by officers from the New York City Transit Authority in the Bronx, New York, according to the press release from the New Hampshire Attorney General’s office. “Officials are continuing to search for Elijah and are requesting the public’s assistance in locating him,” the press release said.
Their arrests came as authorities in New Hampshire searched around the home on Sunset Drive in Merrimack where Elijah had last been seen, CBS Boston reports. “We’re trying to find Elijah. We hope we’re going to find him in good condition. But I would be less than honest if I didn’t say that the chances of that are not looking great at this point,” Senior Assistant Attorney General Benjamin Agati told CBS Boston in an interview after the couple was arrested.
Search teams turned to a pond near Elijah’s home on Monday, CBS Boston reported. “At this point, we’re hoping it’s not a recovery mission, We’re hoping somehow that we are going to go under a rock somewhere and find out that someone has taken him in, maybe there is some sort of mistaken identity that’s going on out there or he’s been misidentified. But right now, we are fearful that may be the direction we are headed,” Agati told the news station. The couple had been living with Stapf’s mother, JoAnne Stapf.
2. Dauphinais Had Custody of 3 of Her 6 Kids — Including Elijah, Her Daughter & a Newborn — but Told Family She Had Given Elijah Up Because She Could Not Care for Him, a Family Member Who Is Helping in the Search Says
According to CBS Boston, the attorney general’s office said Elijah’s father does not live in New Hampshire, but is aware of what is happening and has cooperated with the investigation. A family member, MJ Morrison, started a Facebook page, “Find Elijah ‘Eli’ Lewis — NH Missing Child,” to assist in the search. Morrison provided details on the page about Dauphinais and her children. According to Morrison, Dauphinais has six kids, including Elijah, and had custody of Elijah, her newborn daughter and her second youngest daughter, until the recent DCYF investigation. Only Elijah is missing, the other children are safe, family said.
“Danielle, his mother had lied to many people about where he was and told people that he was safe. She stated she placed him out of state with one of her family members as she could not care for him due to his behavioral problems she claims he had,” Morrison, the biological aunt of Dauphinais’s eldest child, wrote in a Facebook post on October 17. ” This was not abnormal behavior for her as she had given up her rights to her three other children previously. Elijah was only just placed in Danielle’s care on May 27th, 2020 when his father sent him on a plane from Arizona.”
Morrison added, “Danielle is a known drug user and also goes ‘missing’ for months at a time when using. She has 6 total children. Three of her children have lived with their fathers since they were infants. Her young daughter and newborn with Joseph are placed with DCYF within the last week. Elijah is the only child of hers that is currently missing and not safe. Joseph is not Eli’s father. … He was last seen over 6 months ago. No daycare or school. She is a stay at home Mom. Jo worked full-time as a Manager at a thrift store and was out of the home 6 days a week almost 12 hours a day.”
3. Stapf Was Arrested on Burglary Charges in Hooksett, New Hampshire, in 2016
Stapf, who goes by Jo Stapf on Facebook, is a Merrimack, New Hampshire, native, according to his Facebook page. His Facebook profile shows several photos with his children and with Dauphinais. In December 2020, he wrote in a post alongside of a photo kissing Dauphinais at a beach, “This beautiful woman is my world.. i am so lucky to have you in my life dbaby… jojo is one happy man! Ily much!!”
Stapf, who has also lived in Florida, was arrested in 2016 in Hooksett, New Hampshire, according to a police press release from the time. Stapf was stopped by police after they spotted him and a woman in a “suspicious” vehicle, and he provided a fake driver’s license, the release said. His fingerprints then connected him to a February 2016 burglary, according to police. He was charged with burglary and disobeying an officer.
Stapf was also arrested in 2016 by the Mount Vernon, New Hampshire, police, according to a Facebook post from the time, “In July of 2015, Mont Vernon Police responded to a burglary on Dow Road. Upon police arrival it was discovered there was forced entry into the residence and jewelry was stolen while the homeowners were gone. On November 15, 2016, after a lengthy investigation, the Mont Vernon Police Department arrested Joseph Stapf, 25, of Singer Island, Florida. Stapf was booked and held on $1,000 cash. Stapf also had two active electronic bench warrants and a warrant from the Hooksett Police Department. Stapf is currently being held at the Valley Street Jail.”
4. Dauphinais Was Arrested on a DWI Charge in 2013 & on Theft Charges in 2019
Dauphinais also has a history of arrests in New Hampshire, according to online records. She was arrested in 2013 on a charge of driving while intoxicated in Hudson, New Hampshire, according to an arrest log in the Lowell Sun. She was living in Nashua, New Hampshire, at the time, according to the report. She was also arrested by Nashua Police in January 2019 on warrants related to charges of theft by unauthorized taking of $0 to $1,000, theft from building and nonpayment of fines, according to a police arrest log.
Dauphinais has previously lived in Mesa, Arizona, and Hagerstown, Maryland, according to online records. On Facebook, she uses the name Dee Dauphinais. Little other information about Dauphinais’s background was immediately available.
Morrison wrote on Facebook, “Please do not say everyone failed There were many of us who tried to help Danielle. I begged her to let me help her with Elijah when she was stressed out with him. She wouldn’t allow anyone to come to the home and would go MIA. As she was on drugs and hiding another pregnancy. She told me she had DCYF involved and that they had services started for him and that he was going with her sister. She was just waiting on the paperwork to be signed and he was on his way to her. Danielle giving up her children was so common that none of us questioned her plan.”
5. Dauphinais & Stapf Will Make Their First Court Appearance in New York as Authorities Seek to Extradite the Couple to New Hampshire
The New Hampshire AG’s office said in its press release, “Dauphinais and Stapf will be arraigned in the Bronx County Criminal Court located at 215 East 161st Street in New York City, New York, at 12:30 P.M. today. The State of New Hampshire has sought their extradition. If they choose to waive formal extradition, they will be returned to New Hampshire for arraignment in Hillsborough County Superior Court, Southern District later this week.”
The attorney general’s office added, “Based on the information currently known to investigators, there does not appear to be any danger to the public. The investigation is ongoing and additional information will be released as it becomes available while protecting the integrity of the investigation.” It was not immediately known if Dauphinais and Stapf have hired or been appointed attorneys who could speak on their behalf. The couple could not be reached for comment by Heavy and Stapf’s mother, JoAnne Stapf, who was living with them at the time of the boy’s disappearance, could also not be reached for comment by Heavy.
“This is extremely hard for all of us that are family or close to Elijah and Danielle to process right now. There is a lot of speculation going on, stories and unanswered questions. Please understand that Danielle has 5 other children other than Elijah out there. She has an older son (my nephew) who is present on social media and is having to not only cope, worry and deal with his brother missing but see and hear about his Mother all over the news. This is not easy for him nor is it easy for any of the other children involved,” Morrison wrote on Facebook. “We all want the same outcome. Elijah safe. Please refrain from placing blame on anyone but the two people (Danielle Dauphinais and Joseph Stapf) who are currently wanted for questioning inside this group. There is a reason why they are the only ones under investigation. This is a safe space for the family and friends of Elijah.”
The boy's mother and another man who were sought by police are now back in New Hampshire awaiting arraignment, after they were arrested in New York City.
www.wcvb.com
New Hampshire officials believe missing 5-year-old was last seen within past 30 days
As authorities in New Hampshire continue their search for a missing 5-year-old Merrimack boy, investigators now believe 5-year-old Elijah Lewis was last seen at his home sometime within the last 30 days.
MERRIMACK, N.H. (WHDH) - Officials now say a missing 5-year-old was last seen at his home a month ago instead of six months ago, as<a class="excerpt-read-more"...
whdh.com
Officials now believe missing 5-year-old NH boy was last seen at home a month ago; mother and boyfriend to be arraigned Wednesday
Officials now say a missing 5-year-old was last seen at his home a month ago instead of six months ago, as the boy’s mother and her boyfriend are facing charges in his disappearance.
The state Department of Children, Youth and Families reported Elijah missing last week, and officials initially said he had not been seen in six months. Investigators now believe Elijah was last seen at his home sometime within the last 30 days, officials said.
NASHUA, N.H (WHDH) - The mother of a missing 5-year-old New Hampshire boy and her boyfriend denied in court on Wednesday that they told relatives<a class="excerpt-read-more"...
whdh.com
Missing 5-year-old NH boy’s mom, boyfriend deny in court that they told people to lie about his whereabouts
The mother of a missing 5-year-old New Hampshire boy and her boyfriend denied in court on Wednesday that they told people to lie his whereabouts as law enforcement officials continue their frantic search for the child.
Danielle Dauphinais, 35, and 30-year-old Joseph Stapf, both of Merrimack, appeared from jail via video and pleaded not guilty in Hillsborough County Superior Court South to charges of witness tampering and child endangerment.
Two uncles of Elijah Lewis, the missing Merrimack, N.H. boy, pleaded with their sister to tell authorities what happened to the boy.
www.boston25news.com
Missing NH boy’s uncles plea with their sister to come clean
The New Hampshire State Police Major Crime Unit was at the house removing evidence from 3:30 until 5 p.m. on Wednesday. It’s unclear why they suddenly returned to the home now blocked off with crime scene tape. Earlier, two uncles of Elijah Lewis, the missing Merrimack, N.H. boy, pleaded with their sister to tell authorities what happened to the boy.
“We do love you, but you need to tell,” John Dauphinais said.
“You got to tell us where he is,” Randy Stewart added.
“DD please, please talk to us. Talk to the detectives. Let us know where Elijah is,” Randy Stewart said alongside his brother as they stood outside Hillsboro County Superior Court in Nashua, N.H.
Danielle Dauphinais’ brothers said they were under the impression that Danielle was sending Elijah to California to live with another sister whose husband is an expert in mental health issues. They added that Elijah as prone to temper tantrums.
Cellphone found in Mass. pond triggered new Elijah Lewis search
Sources tell 5 Investigates it was a cellphone that was dumped at Sandy Pond in Ayer, Massachusetts, that broke this case open.
The phone was found by a group of kids at the pond last week and given to authorities.
Lewis has been missing from New Hampshire for about a month.
Sources tell 5 Investigates that investigators were able to do forensics on the phone and track the movements of Lewis' mother and her boyfriend in Massachusetts.
The sources say that led them to another phone and eventually to the couple in New York City, where they were arrested last Sunday.
Sources tell 5 Investigates cellphone data and information they learned after the arrest led investigators to the site in Abington on Friday where they're searching now.
Police are searching two different locations for any clues that will lead them to Lewis' but 5 Investigates tell us the main focus is in Abington for now.
New Hampshire and Massachusetts investigators are holding a 1 p.m. press conference Saturday with an update on their search for a missing Merrimack boy.
Authorities said they believe they have found the body of missing 5-year-old Elijah Lewis buried in a wooded area in Massachusetts.
abcnews.go.com
"Credible information" led investigators to a wooded area in Abington, south of Boston, late this week, and Saturday morning, a state police cadaver dog "located what's presumed to be Elijah Lewis' body buried in the ground," Plymouth County District Attorney Tim Cruz said during a press briefing near the crime scene.
Nine days after he was reported missing, Elijah Lewis was found buried in the woods in Abington, Mass. Here's what we know.
www.boston.com
Autopsy confirms remains found in Abington to be 5-year-old Elijah Lewis. Here’s everything we know.
Massachusetts’ chief medical examiner performed an autopsy Sunday to determine the cause and manner of death. By Sunday night, the autopsy confirmed the remains are those of Elijah Lewis, but the manner and cause were pending further testing and investigation, the New Hampshire Attorney General’s Office said.
A candlelight vigil was held Sunday night in honor of 5-year-old Elijah Lewis.
boston.cbslocal.com
‘Loss Of A Beautiful Boy’: Candlelight Vigil Held In Memory Of 5-Year-Old Elijah Lewis
A candlelight vigil was held Sunday night in honor of 5-year-old Elijah Lewis, the New Hampshire boy who was reported missing earlier this month and was located Saturday buried in an Abington park.
“We’re grieving as a family, as a community, the loss of a beautiful boy,” Elijah’s aunt MJ Morrison said. “I think about his silly personality, the way he loved to dance, those big brown eyes, and his dimples.”
NEW HAMPSHIRE (WJW) — A New Hampshire mother whose missing 5-year-old son was found dead allegedly likened him to Ted Bundy and Jeffery Dahmer before he disappeared. According to court record…
fox8.com
‘Next Ted Bundy’: Mom allegedly said she wanted 5-year-old ‘gone’ in messages sent before he died
A New Hampshire mother whose missing 5-year-old son was found dead allegedly likened him to Ted Bundy and Jeffery Dahmer before he disappeared.
The Boston Globe reports that four months before Lewis was reported missing, Dauphinais told a friend via Snapchat app messages that she called her son “the next Ted Bundy and Jeffery Dahmer.”
She complained she didn’t have a connection with him and that she wanted “him gone,” according to the messages reviewed by the newspaper.
Dauphinais’ attorney would not comment on the messages, according to the newspaper, which also reported that the woman has five other children.
A cause of death has not been released in the little boy’s death. Charges in his death have also not been filed.
The autopsy results released by the NH Attorney General’s Office represent the first time authorities have said anything about how the 5-year-old boy died.
The 5-year-old's body was uncovered in Abington last year.
www.masslive.com
Danielle Dauphinais, mother of 5-year-old boy Elijah Lewis whose body was found buried in Abington woods, charged with murder in connection to her son’s killing
Authorities have charged Danielle Dauphinais with murder in connection with the killing of her 5-year-old son Elijah Lewis, whose body was found buried in an Abington woods in 2021, the New Hampshire Attorney General’s office announced.
The 35-year-old New Hampshire woman has been charged with one count of first-degree murder for purposely causing Lewis’s death, one count of second-degree murder for causing Lewis’s death recklessly with extreme indifference to the value of human life, and three counts of tampering with witnesses, authorities said.
Stapf faces child endangerment and witness protection charges he’s currently being held without bail.
Dauphinais will continue to be held without bail. Her arraignment will be set at a later date.
www.wmur.com
SIX MONTHS????
