13-year-old boy found dead in wooded area behind homes in Lithonia

DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. - DeKalb County police are investigating after a boy's body was found in the woods at a park behind a subdivision in Lithonia.

According to police, officers were called around 4:20 p.m. to the 2600 block of Parkway Trail Monday where they discovered the body of a male juvenile in the wood line. The homes in that area butt up against Lithonia Park. 

The child's age and identity have not yet been officially released, and police have not commented on the specifics about his death. 

FOX 5 spoke with a woman who identified the boy as her son, 13-year-old Jamiren Crosby. Chanell Crosby says her son disappeared early Saturday and that she had not seen him since.

13-year-old Jamiren Crosby (Source: Family)

"He was my helper, he'd help me with my little daughter and my youngest son," Crosby told FOX 5. "He was a real person. All he wanted was real around him—real love--wanted to be loved by his family."

Jamiren's mother says her son was a straight "A" student in the 8th grade at DeKalb Alternative School. He had just joined ATL Elite Football. She says he left home with some friends around 2 a.m. Saturday. That was the last time she saw him alive.

Investigators say they are still working to determine the cause of death.