Arrest made in missing infant case, baby still missing

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. (WAND) - An arrest has been made in connection with a missing infant case in Bloomington, but the baby is still missing.

On Saturday at 11:15 a.m., Bloomington officers were dispatched to a retail store in the 2200 block of W. Market St. for a retail theft. Officers arrested a woman, identified as Kimberlee A. Burton, 29, of Bloomington, Illinois for retail theft.

After the arrest, the father of two of Burton's children had his mother come pick up his children, who were 5 and 6 years old. During the pick-up, only the two young children were in the home.

On Sunday at 11:30 p.m., the Bloomington Police Department received a call requesting a well-being check on an infant. The caller was concerned about the infant's (who also lived with Burton and his two children) well-being and could not locate anyone who was taking care of the infant.

BPD began the missing juvenile investigation. Officers attempted to speak with the mother, who was still at the McLean County Jail.

Officers also went to Burton's residence to conduct a well-being check and entered the home.

During a cursory search of the apartment, no infant was found. But police said there were signs a baby had lived there.

Officers applied for several search warrants for the residence to conduct a more thorough search and to collect evidence to be analyzed for the investigation.

Officers were able to locate identification information for the three children that lived there.

The infant was then identified as Zaraz V. Walker. Officers learned that the father of Zaraz may have lived in Illinois or Florida.

They began calling different areas and police department's where the father may be, but could not locate him.

On Monday at 7:00 a.m., five officers and members of the Criminal Investigation Division began a neighborhood canvas in the 300 block of E. Wood St. After the neighborhood canvas, members of the department began searching the surrounding areas for any evidence of Zaraz.

They searched through the day and night.

At approximately 5:00 p.m., the Bloomington Police Department arrested Kimberlee Burton, who is still at the McLean County Jail, for two counts of felony Child Endangerment for the two young children who were left at her residence without supervision after her arrest.

The infant is still listed as missing/endangered. Any person who has had any recent contact with Kimberlee Burton or Zaraz Walker is asked to contact the Bloomington Police Department's Sgt. Detective Jared Bierbaum at (309) 434-2807 or jbierbaum@cityblm.org.

Before 5 p.m. on Feb. 18, Bloomington police said anyone who spoke to and/or had any contact with Zaraz Walker or her mother, Kimberlee Burton, since December 2021 should reach out to Sgt. Detective Bierbaum at (309)434-2807 or email jbierbaum@cityblm.org.

A Friday statement from Bloomington Police Chief Jamal Simington said the following:

"It is imperative that we continue to leverage the appropriate resources in this investigation to locate Zaraz. We are actively seeking tips and information regarding her location. No matter how small of a detail it is, we would you like to contact us if you have seen her since December 2021. We are pushing forward with a diligent investigation but do not have additional details to share with the public at this time.

"I also wanted to commend the BPD staff, officers, detectives, McLean County EMA, Woodford County EMA, Chicago Police Department, and Peoria County Sheriff's Department for their assistance and resources in searching for Zaraz over the last several days."