HOUSTON – A knife was found Wednesday several blocks away from the scene where 11-year-old Josue Flores was murdered, but police cautioned that they are still investigating and have not connected the weapon to the murder.
Police said the knife was found in a storm drain by a woman walking near North Main and Henry, about seven blocks away from the murder scene where Josue was brutally stabbed to death while walking home from Marshal Middle School near Fulton and James.
Yolanda Arteaga, the woman who discovered the knife, said she looked down and spotted something shiny sew drain. It looked like a knife and Arteaga new she had to let the police know right away.
"Like I told the officials," Arteaga said. "I'm not sure it's the knife that killed the kid but right now any evidence is good to find the killer."
After alarming police, that Arteaga went to Josue's memorial where Cortez was sitting.
Cortez rushed over to protect the scene before police arrived.
“We looked at it. It was covered in mud, we can't say if it was blood or not,” said Cortez.
Police have not confirmed if the weapon is connected to the murder.
Authorities said the knife was taken into custody and will be taken to the property room, where it will be processed for evidence that may or may not be on it.
"We are not considering this a major development," John Cannon, of the Houston Police Department said. "This could be a knife from anywhere. We just don't know."
The Flores family is hoping otherwise. The family said they would love for the knife to give police some clues as to who killed Josue.
"I hope and pray that it is a the weapon, and I hope that all the evidence stayed in tact so they can get something on it," Lupita Flores, Josue's sister, said.
Cannon said investigators are doing their due diligence and testing the weapon, but did not have a time frame. He would not say if there was blood found on the knife.
Police are still pursuing any and all leads in the case, including surveillance video in the area.
"If there is a message, it's that this woman saw something and said something," Cannon said.
Update on knife found blocks from Josue Flores murder scene. KPRC2 / Click2Houston
Posted by KPRC2 Cathy Hernandez on Wednesday, May 25, 2016
Josue was laid to rest Tuesday.
Mayor Sylvester Turner held a press conference Monday along with Houston police and the district attorney asking anyone with information on Josue's murder to come forward to help catch the killer.
Turner said crimes like these should not go unsolved in the community.
Turner has also authorized the Police Department to use all available resources to help solve this crime.
He's urging anyone who may know something to come forward and talk with police.
Police say they've found knife inside storm drain on N. Main & Henry, blocks from where Josue Flores died.@KPRC2 pic.twitter.com/MA3TGjyz2q
— KPRC Cathy Hernandez (@KPRC2Cathy) May 25, 2016
He also said that any information in this case could be the key piece of evidence they need to arrest the person responsible.
Turner also offered an apology to the man who was wrongly arrested for the crime. Those charges were later dropped.
He said the focus now is on finding the actual person who killed Flores.
The Crime Stoppers reward is at $15,000 to help catch the person responsible.