Dad of disabled son missing for 16 years charged in his death, Missouri officials say

St. Louis County officials have charged a father for the death of his disabled 9-year-old son, according to the St. Louis Post Dispatch.

Dawan Ferguson, 46, has been charged with first-degree murder after his son, Christian Ferguson, has been missing for 16 years, the St. Louis Post Dispatch reported. Prosecutors said that Dawan “caused the death of his son in 2003,” according to the newspaper.

Police began to consider Dawan Ferguson as a suspect after they found missteps from his 911 call, the outlet reported.

According to St. Louis County Prosecutor Wesley Bell, his office “had been reviewing the case for weeks and through discussions with city detectives with a history of the case”, according to the press conference carried by KMOV.

“We’re going to move forward to bring justice to Christian,” Bell said in the video.

The probable cause statement says that “Dawan failed to provide Christian with the proper nutrition and medication from January 2001 through June 2003,” per KSDK.

It continued: “Detectives said they were informed Christian would likely have died within 48 to 72 hours without proper medication,” according to KSDK.

Now, 16 years after the boy vanished, Bell is hoping to bring peace to a grieving family.

“We feel the evidence compels us to seek justice for Christian and that’s what we’re doing,” Bell said in the press conference.