While Hayden is still missing and now feared dead, the prosecutor says investigators did learn more information that could result in criminal charges.
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On Hayden Manis' 11th birthday, Delaware County prosecutor 'leaning toward' criminal charges in boy's disappearance
More than a year after Hayden Manis’ mysterious disappearance made national headlines, there is still no sign of the missing Muncie boy.
Hayden would have turned 11 years old this week, but his family is in no mood to celebrate.
“They’re all bad days for me anymore. I miss him,” said his grandfather, Gary Manis.
13News
broke news of Hayden’s disappearance in early 2025 — more than four years after he was last seen alive — and a
13 Investigates documentary shed more light on the police investigation and search for the missing boy.
The documentary has been viewed
over 1 million times, and family and detectives hoped the attention would lead to more tips and answers.
While Hayden is still missing and now feared dead, the prosecutor in Delaware County says investigators did learn more information that could result in criminal charges.
Investigators found Dustin but not his son, triggering a massive search and investigation that, at the time, was not shared with the public. Detectives searched the Muncie house where Hayden had lived with his father and his father’s girlfriend, Crystal Hall, before the boy went missing.
Sources close to the investigation, who agreed to speak with 13 Investigates on the condition of anonymity, said Hall told detectives in late 2024 that
Hayden is dead and that she disposed of his body in a trash compactor at a truck stop.
After Hall repeatedly ignored questions from 13News, 13 Investigates traveled to Nevada to speak with her. She denied telling investigators that she disposed of the boy’s body.
“That is not what I told police,” Hall told 13 Investigates. Asked to share what information she
did tell investigators, Hall replied: “I cannot… I would like for you to stop this.”
The Delaware County prosecutor confirmed to 13News that Hall remains a person of interest in the investigation.
Adding to the family’s anguish, it’s now been months since they’ve heard anything from investigators. Gary Manis said during his last conversation with the Delaware County prosecutor late last summer, the prosecutor said criminal charges might be filed within a matter of weeks.
That was eight months ago.
“I feel like the police, prosecutor, it’s kind of gotten forgotten,” Phillips told 13News.
“They told us they were still continuing to work on it every day,” Sewell added. “Is it still getting looked at every day? What’s happening? I just wish they’d tell us where they’re at.”
The Delaware County Sheriff’s Office is not commenting on its investigation into Hayden’s disappearance, but the county prosecutor says the investigation is still ongoing.
“Yes, it’s being worked on. It’s on my mind every day,” Hoffman told 13News. He said detectives have made additional progress since Hayden’s story was featured last summer in a 13 Investigates documentary.
“After the documentary aired, I can’t remember exactly how many people contacted the detectives, but there were individuals that did so,” Hoffman said. “They were interviewed, and we got some information from them.”
Hoffman said some of the information aided detectives in their investigation and could potentially lead to criminal charges related to Hayden’s disappearance.
13News also asked the prosecutor about the flooring that detectives took from inside the house where Hayden lived with his father and Crystal Hall. Hoffman said testing on the floor samples removed from a bedroom closet “provided helpful information.”
But despite the test results and new information gathered in 2025, the prosecutor has not yet decided whether to file charges.
13News: “Should the public look at this and come to the conclusion that, at this point, the prosecutor’s office doesn’t feel there’s sufficient information to file charges?”
Hoffman: “No. Absolutely not. If I felt that way, I would say that.”
13News: “I’ve heard from sources inside the sheriff’s department that they are now waiting on you to determine if any charges are going to be filed. What are we waiting for at this point?”
Hoffman: “Well, you’re always waiting for information in a case like this because there’s many pieces that are missing and probably always will be missing. And as a prosecutor, you only get one shot to file a case against a person or persons and attempt to prove their guilt beyond a reasonable doubt … There’s a list of things I’d like to have in this case — evidence, witnesses and so on — some I have, some I don’t. It’s getting around those issues in order to have enough evidence to file a criminal charge. In this case, some of the criminal charges don’t have a statute of limitations, so I don’t have a running clock on me, so to speak, and this is one of those cases where I don’t want to rush. I see no benefit to the case or to justice to rush things along.”
The prosecutor told 13 Investigates he is “leaning toward” filing charges based on the information and evidence collected, and he said a final decision will be made after he meets with detectives. He would not discuss what those charges might be, who they could be filed against, or a timeline for that decision.
In the meantime, Hoffman said he understands the angst and frustration Hayden’s family is experiencing, and he asked for patience.
“There was a four-year delay in reporting this to law enforcement. That handicapped this investigation from Day 1 in so many different ways,” Hoffman said. “Given that, I don’t think this investigation has been pending all that long.”
The prosecutor said detectives still welcome tips from anyone who knows information about Hayden and his disappearance as their effort to figure out what happened to Hayden continues.
“I think this is one of those cases that I’m not so sure all of the truth will come out because someone knows something, and they’re not telling it,” the prosecutor said. “It’ll definitely be a search for the truth, but at the end of it, will we know exactly what happened? I don’t know.”
www.missingkids.org
