Tyler Payne, age 5, left, and sister Ariana Payne.

Photo courtesy Tucson Police Dept.

Related articles:

Body found on S. Side ID'd Ongoing custody battle preceded murder of young girlMissing boy found; police seek abductor

Other articles by Dale Quinn:

130-mile police chase ends in murder and suicide for 2 brothers No felony counts in 2 fatal collisions Dune buggy gunman ID'd as insulin-dependent, 39 Tucson man arrested after fatal crash War among drug criminals rages here Motorcyclist killed in overnight crash on Tucson's North SideThere's a chance of rain in Tucson today — really 2 arrested in kidnapping, beating in Cochise Driver arrested in Midtown collision TPD official to officers: Keep citizens out of labor dispute

Driver/Transportation
Pioneer Landscaping
Drivers/End-Dumps Education
Indian Oasis Baboquivari Unified School District
Teachers / Principals General
Chapel Haven West
Program Staff Health Care
Visiting Angels
Caregivers Trades/Construction
Paragon Electric
Electricians Health Care
Mountain View Retirement Village
LPN Trades/Construction
arizona portland cement
maintenance electrician

Tucson police are searching for a missing boy who may have been the victim of "foul play" in a case connected with a young girl whose body was found in a North Side storage locker last month.

Investigators are looking for Tyler Payne, who they believe is 5 years old, Police Chief Richard Miranda said Monday at a press conference.

Police believe the boy's 4-year-old sister, Ariana Payne, was found on Feb. 18 when the manager of the U-Store-It near East Prince Road and North First Avenue noticed a foul odor coming from a plastic tub inside a storage unit. The manager had begun clearing out the unit after the renter stopped making payments.

Police tentatively identified Ariana, Miranda said, and they're waiting for DNA confirmation that she is the victim.

Christopher Matthew Payne, 28 — who police say is the children's father — was arrested Thursday in connection with the case and was booked into the Pima County jail on one count of first-degree murder and one count of child abuse.

The Pima County Medical Examiner's Office declared Ariana's death a homicide, but because of the ongoing investigation it would not release the exact cause of death, Miranda said.

Both children have not been seen alive for several months, Miranda said.

On Thursday night, Tucson Police Department investigators began searching Los Reales landfill for evidence that could be used in the case. By Friday afternoon, more than 60 TPD officers, detectives and recruits — along with Pima County Sheriff's Department deputies with dogs — had sifted through tons of garbage, but nothing of "evidentiary value" was found, Assistant Police Chief Roberto Villaseñor said after the search.

Miranda would not say if detectives had hoped to find Tyler's body in the landfill or another piece of evidence.

"We suspect Tyler might also be a victim of foul play," Miranda said. "We cannot find him."

Payne has provided information that has led to further investigation, but Miranda stopped short of saying he had cooperated with detectives.

According to court documents, Payne and Jamie Hallam were married in 2002 and were divorced about a year later. Hallam, who police say was the mother of the children, has not been identified as a suspect in the case, Miranda said.

According to information obtained by investigators, Payne most recently had custody of the children, Miranda said. But "Mr. Payne and his ex-wife have been in a custody battle for the children," he added.

Tucson police went to Payne's home to check on the welfare of the children about a year ago after his ex-wife called authorities, Miranda said. The Police Department notified Child Protective Services, which determined that Payne would retain custody of the children, he said.

Since then, Hallam has had no contact with the Police Department or Child Protective Services about the welfare of her children, Miranda said.

Payne was not the renter of the unit where the young girl's body was found, but he was involved in the rental, police said. He has had numerous run-ins with the law. Most recently, he was arrested on suspicion of possessing drug paraphernalia, but he failed to appear in court.