JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – One year ago Saturday, the community was struck with the news that Lonzie Barton was missing. A search of much of Jacksonville conducted by law enforcement and people who didn’t even know the toddler, went on for months six months.
“It seems like it was just yesterday,” Stephanie Johnson said.
One year later, the death of Lonzie Barton is still hard to talk about for many people that followed the case from the morning he was reported missing, all the way until his mother Lonna Barton and her boyfriend Ruben Ebron were sentenced to prison.
“Even though a bunch of us had a bunch of differences, different opinions about what happened, we still got out there and were able to search together,” Johnson said.
Stephanie Johnson is one of many people who got together with others, searched through rough, wooded areas on hot summer days for hours trying to help the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office find the toddler.
She told News4Jax that despite the conditions and emotional toll it took on everyone, nobody complained.
“I think that your adrenaline is going and you are so determined to find something that you see past that,” She said.
“Even those that couldn’t search, they were there giving their input. They were there giving supplies, water, snacks. It was heartwarming to know that everybody could come together like that.”
Sheriff Mike Williams says that one of the biggest takeaways his agency had from the entire event is the support they have in this community. He said they had and continue to receive an outpouring of support for the work they did.
“That case touched so many people in this community, and it was a tough one for everybody, obviously. But the community really came together and rallied around that,” Williams said.
The memorial for Lonzie still sits near where his body was found in the woods in Bayard.
Johnson says she has visited his grave site may times and will do so again Sunday to lay flowers. She says that despite his body being found the way it was, having a proper burial and grave site is something everyone wanted.
“I think that’s where a bunch of us get comfort, knowing that he was found and laid to rest properly,” Johnson says.
1 year since Lonzie Barton investigation began
The night of July 23, 2015, Lonzie’s mother, Lonna Barton, went to work at her job at Wacko's gentlemen's club. She said it was the last time she saw her son.
Lonzie was then reported missing in the early morning hours of July 24 by Barton's boyfriend, Ruben Ebron, who told police that his car had been stolen with the 21-month-old inside, which prompted a Florida Amber Alert to be issued.
The night of Jan. 10, Ebron led a convoy of investigators to the property in Jacksonville's Bayard neighborhood on the Southside, where he said he disposed of Lonzie's remains, according to the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office.
Later, Ebron admitted that he was having sex with Lonna Barton, the toddler's mother, while Lonzie drowned in a bathtub.
Sheriff Williams was moved by the support police received as they worked, and ultimately solved, the boy's disappearance.
"One of the things we learned is that we have a lot of support from the community. The outpouring of support it started with that event for us," Williams said. "Again, a great outpouring of support."