A week after a 20-month-old was reported missing out of Chatham County, Ga. authorities said they now believe the boy is dead.

His mother was named a “prime suspect” in his disappearance Wednesday evening, police said.

“We are saddened to report that CCPD and the FBI have notified Quinton Simon’s family that we believe he is deceased,” Chatham police said. “We have named his mother, Leilani Simon, as the prime suspect in his disappearance and death. But, no arrests have been made and no charges have been filed.”

Quinton Simon was reported missing Oct. 5 from a Buckhalter Road home in Savannah after he was last seen by his mother’s boyfriend at about 6 a.m. that morning, according to police. He was wearing a light blue Sesame Street shirt and black pants at the time of his disappearance, which was reported by his mother nearly four hours later.

“Today marks one week since Quinton Simon was reported missing. We will be at his home where he was last seen with a team of search dogs and investigators. We will spend today gathering and analyzing evidence,” the police department wrote just hours before announcing that Simon’s mother was suspected in the toddler’s disappearance.

On Tuesday, the police department said they seized evidence that would help move the case forward but did not say what evidence was obtained. It was not clear why they now believe the boy is dead.

The Buckhalter Road home, which is owned by Quinton Simon’s grandparents, was also searched earlier this week, the Savannah Morning News reported. Multiple FBI agents were seen taping dark plastic to the windows on Monday.

According to the newspaper, the toddler and his older sibling were in the custody of their grandmother, Billie Jo Howell. She filed a dispossessory notice with the Chatham County Magistrate Court in early September to evict Leilani Simon and her boyfriend from her home.

“We’re trying to re-double our efforts and scrub the area to make sure that we didn’t miss anything,” Chatham police Chief Jeffrey Hadley told the Savannah outlet.

Hadley will be addressing the media Thursday to provide more details about the investigation. No further information will be released until then, according to the police department.

“We know that thousands of people around the world will be heartbroken by this news, and we share your sorrow,” the department said on Facebook.

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