The Pekin Police and the Tazwell County Sheriff’s department held a press conference on Tuesday to discuss the remains found in Pekin, Illinois, on Monday and the possible connection to missing 13-year-old Robert Bee, Jr.

While law enforcement insisted at the news conference that they have not concluded the remains belong to the missing boy, a Tazewell County Sheriff spokesperson said that the forensic pathologist who examined the remains believes that Robert Bee’s body has been found, and that his dental records are a match.

Investigators say the forensic pathologist is presuming remains found around Pekin belong to Robert Bee Jr. (1) pic.twitter.com/LTFFI05gQE

— 1470 & 100.3 WMBD (@1470WMBD) July 25, 2017

Pekin Police Chief John Dossey said at the press conference that the discovery of the remains “has amped up our investigation efforts” and said it was possible the missing persons investigation could eventually become a homicide investigation.

“Since day one we’ve treated this as … this could be the potential result,” Dossey said, while adding that he was not away are of any arrests at this time.

Robert Bee, Jr., went missing in November 2016 after he ran away from truancy officers who came to his home. Police have been actively searching for him since then, and have publicly revealed very little information about the investigation.

Chief Dossey appealed to the reporters at the news conference for patience in getting further answers now.

“We’re trying to give as many answers as we can without jeapordizing the investigation,” he said.

On Tuesday, CrimeOnline spoke to Bobette Spillman, a member of Team Bonsai, a volunteer group that she says has been searching for Robert, who was also known as “Bonsai,” every weekend since he vanished.

Spillman told CrimeOnline that she believes the house where the remains were found belong to the mother of a man who was friendly with Robert’s mother, Lisa Bee. CrimeOnline has not been able to confirm this information, and law enforcement officials at the news conference declined to identify the owner or any residents of the property.

In March, CrimeOnline spoke to Lisa Bee via Facebook messenger, and she declined to answer any questions about her boy’s disappearance.

This is a developing story and will be updated as more information becomes available.

Feature photo: Police handout