MONTEZUMA, Iowa — If you stroll through the center of town in Montezuma, you'll still see the orange ribbons tied to trees and light poles in honor of Xavior Harrelson, and the memories of the day he disappeared are still on the minds of residents.
"It was a very cold rainy night," recalled Jacki Bolen, mayor of Montezuma.
"We knew something was up, for sure," said Gene Fuller, who works across the street from the mobile home park where Xavior lived.
It's now been nearly a year since the then 10-year-old Xavior when missing.
"People were going to all different sections of town and just trying to locate him," Bolen said.
Xavior, however, was nowhere to be found. His disappearance hit the community hard.
"Scared, panicky, angry. We went through the whole gamut of emotions," Bolen added.
By the following weekend, on what would have been Xavior's 11th birthday, hundreds of volunteers turned out for a massive search effort led by law enforcement.
"It certainly was frustrating. It was heartbreaking, but it didn't deter our efforts," recalled Mitch Mortvedt, assistant director of the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation.
Eventually, Xavior's remains would be found in a field along a gravel road west of town.
Today, the search for answers continues.
"We still have personnel agents and deputies assigned to it that are currently working it on an active basis, constantly evaluating old information, a little bit of new information coming in," Mortvedt said.
Investigators said there is information they cannot share, like how Xavior died or if they have any suspects. They did say, however, the public's help is still needed.
"There's someone or people out there that know what happened," Mortvedt said. "We implore them to come forward with any information."
Meanwhile, a community anxiously awaits answers.
"I get the feeling — the urgency that we need to have a resolution here," Bolen said.