HOUSTON — “Broken beyond repair.”
That’s how Samuel Olson’s maternal grandmother described her feelings in a text as both sides of the boy’s family reacted to new developments in the case.
The boy's father's girlfriend was charged after what's believed to be his body was found.
Texas EquuSearch helped search for Samuel despite founder Tim Miller’s gut feelings.
“I was not very optimistic this child was ever going to be found,” Miller said.
He said that became even clearer following conversations with the boy’s father’s girlfriend, Theresa Balboa, who was charged in connection with the case following Tuesday night’s discovery of what’s believed to be little Samuel’s body.
“I told her, I said, 'I’m so damn disappointed in you,'” Miller said. "I said, 'You know, every word you’re saying is a lie.' And that’s when things started unravelling, I think.”
Miller said it was difficult from the beginning pinning down the last time family members saw Samuel.
That includes his father and his family.
“The last person Sam was seen with was with Theresa Balboa,” said paternal grandmother Tonya Olson on Tuesday.
Miller was with the Olson family following news that a body was found.
“I was with that family until about 12:30, after midnight, and it was just devastating over there last night and seeing dad go through all the pain and grief and everything he was going through,” Miller said.
There’s been an ongoing custody dispute between Samuel’s parents, and his father even had a restraining order against Balboa.
“All I want is JUSTICE FOR SAMUEL my baby," his mother, Sarah Olson, said in a statement through her lawyer. "I do not want people to forget Samuel’s name. Please Let the outside world know that I’m a heartbroken, but I believe that body is my baby."