By CNN Staff
(CNN) — The mother of a 9-month-old New York baby who was last seen two weeks ago wearing only a diaper pleaded Thursday for someone to come forward with information.
“I would like to ask anybody that’s out there if you know where (Levon Wameling) is, or if he’s alive or dead, just please call the Utica police so I can put him to rest,” Amy Warney said at a news conference.
The baby’s father took two weeks to go to an attorney’s office then call police to report Levon’s disappearance, authorities said. Police said Thursday they are not satisfied with his explanation for waiting for so long.
“Based on the information that he’s given us, we have a lot of concern,” said Utica Police Chief Mark Williams.
He wouldn’t elaborate on why the father waited until his parents prompted him to report Levon missing.
“We have a problem with what he says,” Williams said. “There’s no question about it.”
The father told investigators he took the child out for a late-night walk and locked himself out, so he put the boy down on the small front porch to the home and went around back to find a way in.
When he opened the front door, he said, the baby was gone.
Guy Palmieri, the father’s landlord, said his tenant was frequently losing his keys and calling him for new ones.
The father hasn’t spoken with police since Tuesday, Williams said.
“The last we left it with the father he asked for an attorney and no longer wanted to speak with us,” he said.
Police haven’t called the father a suspect and no charges have been filed.
Sgt. Steve Hauck said his department was getting a lot of leads. He encouraged residents to give their yards a thorough check.
Levon has black hair, brown eyes and is 2-feet-tall, according to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children’s website.
Williams said the department is using dogs to look for Levon, but the search has been hampered by poor weather.
