NEWBURGH – There have been no other missing children in Newburgh in recent months, Newburgh City Police Chief Eric Paolilli Thursday afternoon said it is likely the body found in a wooded area Wednesday is that of Marc Bookal, the 4-year-old who went missing in early December of last year.

An autopsy was continuing Thursday afternoon, but the chief said all they can confirm is that the body was that of a young boy.

DNA tests will be needed to confirm the identity, and that can take a month, or more.

“We have in our own minds come to the reality that since we do not have any other reports of any other missing children in the city or, in fact, in any kind of proximity that would lend credibility that this might be anybody else, that we have come to that conclusion; however, we cannot confirm that. That is not a certainty,” the chief said.

Details of the investigation, including how long the body was in the woods and cause of death, have not been disclosed.

The body was found in a vinyl book-type bag by a State Police cadaver dog in an area the police had extensively searched during the intensive investigation for weeks after Marc disappeared. The chief said it appeared to the investigating officers that the body was “purposely secreted there.”

Paolilli said Corey Byrd, the boyfriend of Marc’s mother, is a “person of interest.” He said “logic dictates” the investigation is going to lead to Byrd, the last person to see Marc alive.

Byrd, who still won’t talk to authorities, remains in the Orange County Jail on a parole violation.