NEW YORK (WCBS 880) — The mother of a missing 5-year-old New Hampshire boy and a man were arrested in the Bronx on Sunday, the New Hampshire Attorney General's Office announced.
The NYPD confirmed Monday Danielle Denise Dauphinais, 35, and Joseph Stapf, 30, were arrested in the vicinity of Westchester and Bruckner avenues at 7:13 a.m.
Dauphinais and Stapf were wanted on warrants for witness tampering and child endangerment after Dauphinais' son, Elijah Lewis, had not been seen in six months, though he was only reported missing last Thursday, the Attorney General's Office said.
Prosecutors said Dauphinais and Stapf asked several people to lie about Lewis' whereabouts to throw off child protection service workers as they looked to locate him.
Officials said the endangerment charge alleges the pair violated a duty of care, protection or support for Elijah.
The two were scheduled to be arraigned in court on Monday afternoon. The NYPD said Dauphinais and Stapf are awaiting extradition to New Hampshire.
The mission to locate Lewis continued Monday as the investigation into his dispearrance is ongoing.
However, Senior Assistant Attorney General Benjamin Agati said Monday the chances of finding the 5-year-old in a "good condition" are unlikely, CBS Boston reports.
“We’re hoping somehow that we are going to go under a rock somewhere and find out that someone has taken him in, maybe there is some sort of mistaken identity that’s going on out there or he’s been misidentified," he said. "But right now, we are fearful that may be the direction we are headed.”
Anyone with information on his location is asked to contact the Merrimack Police Department's Crimeline at (603) 424-2424 or New Hampshire State Police Communications at (603) 223-4381.