Police Share Graphic Photo Of Dead Boy Washed Ashore In Texas: 'We're Not Releasing This Lightly'

Warning: This article contains graphic material.

Police have shared the graphic photo of a dead, unidentified child who washed ashore a beach in Galveston, Texas, in October. Previously, police released a sketch of the child they are calling “Little Jacob.” Now, the Galveston Police Department has released a photograph of the boy in hopes that someone will recognize him and help police find out who is behind his death.

"We're not releasing this photo lightly. It's really being done, at this point, as a last option," police Capt. Joshua Schirard said at a news conference Tuesday.

According to a press release, police believe that he did not die from drowning and that he was already dead before he was in the water. Evidence also reveals that he may have suffered malnourishment and abuse. He is believed to have weighed only half the weight of a healthy boy his estimated age: 3 or 4 years old.

"Evidence found and collected at the scene and during the autopsy is limited," police said.

Over the course of the past few months, hundreds of tips have rolled in, but nothing has stuck. The investigation into “Little Jacob’s” identity is now a collaborative effort between local police, FBI, US Coast Guard and Texas Child Protective Services, the Houston Chronicle reported. 

"We've exhausted all of the other things we can do. This was not up there with anything anyone wanted to do or would have chosen to do in any other instance," Schirard said at Tuesday’s press conference. “Someone out there knows this child. Someone has seen him. This child deserves to be properly laid to rest.”

The FBI is offering a $10,000 reward for information that leads to the identification of the boy or the boy’s family or caretaker. Anyone with potential information, please call 1-800-CALL-FBI.

[Photo: Galveston Police Department, FBI]