DICKSON, Tenn. (WTVF) — Will Joe Clyde's body ever be found? His body still has not been found, but that doesn't mean the case is closed.
The little boy went missing in 2018, prompting an Amber Alert. His father, Joseph Daniels, was subsequently charged and convicted of the boy's murder. And his mother, Krystal Daniels, will stand trial next year on child neglect charges.
The little boy had a birthday this past weekend; he would have turned nine this past Saturday. And it's a reminder he's still missing and the search for remains continues.
"You're looking for remains of a smaller child. You don't come across those things every day," said NewsChannel5 legal analyst Nick Leonardo.
It's believed, of course, that Joe Clyde is dead, but where is the body?
"We're here to find Joe Clyde Daniels," said David Marshburn - an investigator from North Carolina. Marshburn was in Dickson several times over the past few years along with many others searching for the little boy's remains. He even called sheriff's deputies out to collect possible evidence during Joseph's trial.
He says he'll be back later this year with new theories on where to look -- though he suspects, as he did in 2019, there won't be much left to find.
"It will be there, but scattered. And if there are remains your dogs will hit on it? Yes sir. Guaranteed."
Of course, to date, searchers have found no trace of the child within a six-mile radius of the home.
Still, without a body, the father Joseph was convicted in June of felony murder. His mother Krystal will stand trial for child neglect next year. So, what would the significance be of finding the remains now?
"If they were to find a body now that could point to the fact that someone else was responsible for this crime," said Leonardo.
Short of producing new evidence pointing to another suspect. Leonardo says the remains will do nothing to alter the conviction of the father or the case against the mother.
Joseph Daniels did confess to killing his son and then was convicted at trial. But he has never revealed to the police where he hid the body.
Of course, there are cases where a victim's body is never found. But the hope is someday Joe Clyde can be given a proper burial.
