HAMPTON, Va. - As the search for missing 4-year-old Codi Bigby goes on, Hampton Police Chief Mark Talbot addressed the city council on the investigation Wednesday night, thanking the community for their help as the department continues to look into the young boy's disappearance.
"Clearly, with this case being as intense and high profile as it's turned out to be, it's been a tremendous amount of stress for everybody involved, including the public. I absolutely appreciate the number of citizens who've reached out and offered to help. And the citizens that have searched, we have collaborated very well with with many residents," Talbot said.
Codi's father, Cory Bigsby, reported the toddler missing on January 31.Cory said he last saw Codi at 2 a.m. that day in all black clothes and Spider-Man flip flops - but police say that timeline doesn’t add up.
Cory has since been arrested and is facing seven counts of felony child neglectbecause police say headmitted to leaving his young children home aloneon at least two different occasions. These charges are not tied to Codi's disappearance.
Cory was denied bond during a hearing Tuesday on those charges.
Many people have questioned why there was no AMBER Alert sent out once Codi was discovered missing. The News 3 team of investigators learned a police chief alone cannot make the call to issue an AMBER Alert. Virginia State Police ultimately make the call to trigger the alert.
According to state and federal law, all four of the established criteria must be met. You can see our investigation into that here.
