Wanda Ebron, the mother of Ruben Ebron, told News4JAX on Wednesday after learning of Lonna Barton’s release that she met little Lonzie just weeks before his death.

The mother of a toddler at the center of one of the biggest missing child cases in the Jacksonville area was released from prison on Wednesday after serving time in connection with his death.

Tuesday marks six years since Lonzie Barton’s body was found in a wooded area off Interstate 295 in Bayard.

A well-known and highly-respected Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office supervisor is retiring after 29 years of service.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - For many, the disappearance of 5-year-old Taylor Williams is a reminder of other Amber Alerts in the Northeast Florida area. On Tuesday, human remains were found in Alabama during the search for Taylor. On the same day, sources confirmed Brianna Williams, Taylor's mother, who Sheriff Williams named a person of interest in the child's disappearance, was flown to a Jacksonville hospital due to a medical emergency. The circumstances of Taylor's disappearance hit close to home for Charlie Wilkie, a retired officer with the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office, who discovered Lonzie's remains and the body of 8-year-old Cherish Perrywinkle. Now working for another agency, he's watched the investigation into Taylor's disappearance closely, telling News4Jax its similar to Lonzie's case.

The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office believes 21-month-old Lonzie Barton was in a car that was stolen from the Ravenwood Apartments on Old Kings Road sometime before 2:20 a.m. July 24, when the car's owner called police.

It's been four years since the search for Lonzie Barton began.That sparked one of the biggest missing child cases in the Jacksonville area. It ended in tragedy. Joy Purdy has a look at how it all... Copyright 2019 by WJXT News4Jax - All rights reserved.

The 1st District Court of Appeals has upheld the seven-year prison sentence that Lonzie Barton's mother received in Baker County, where she pleaded guilty to drug charges. That sentence was ordered to run consecutively to the five years that Lonna Barton got in Duval County, where she pleaded guilty to child neglect in connection with the death of her son, 21-month-old Lonzie. Lonzie disappeared in July 2015 and his remains were found in January 2016. Barton’s boyfriend, Ruben Ebron, pleaded guilty to aggravated manslaughter of a child and was sentenced to 20 years in prison. He got five years tacked on in Baker County for his conviction on drug charges.

BAKER COUNTY, Fla. – Days after they attended their son's burial services last week, the parents of toddler Lonzie Barton were entered into the state prison system. Lonna and Chris Barton had been held in the Baker County Jail until after their son's private family funeral last Tuesday at V. Todd Ferreira Funeral Services in Macclenny. Lonna Barton will serve five years for Duval County charges of child neglect and lying to police and another seven years for Baker County drug charges. Chris Barton was sentenced to three years on the drug charges and 38 days for the battery charge. Lonna Barton and Chris Barton were arrested Sept. 16 after an undercover drug deal at a Baker County motel.

One neighbor, whose grandchildren used to play in the area where the boy was finally found, said what happened there keeps her up at night. At first glance, the area seems quiet, even peaceful, but no matter how many wildflowers grow there the spot is a dark reminder of what investigators discovered on the property, Margie Bledsoe said. "Where you think you're safe, where you should be safe, you're not,” she said. At one point the detective says that they aren't ready to stop searching, even though they'd been circling the area for more than an hour. Bledsoe said the discovery brought some closure for those following the case since the toddler was reported missing last July.

In court Friday, the public defender read a letter from Ebron in which Ebron apologized to his family, Lonzie and Lonna Barton, who was Ebron's girlfriend when the boy disappeared. "I don’t think 20 years is enough," said Shirley Barton, Lonzie's great aunt. Lonna Barton and her ex-husband, Chris Barton, who is Lonzie's father, were caught doing drugs the evening after a custody hearing for Lonzie's older sister, while their son was still missing. Ebron led a convoy of investigators to the property in Bayard, where he said he disposed of the Lonzie's remains. Lonna Barton currently faces up to six years in prison on the charges she pleaded guilty to after Lonzie's disappearance.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Just over a week after police said the remains of toddler Lonzie Barton were likely found, a hearing in the Ruben Ebron case was postponed until Feb. 9. A status hearing in Ebron's case was scheduled Tuesday morning, but at the last minute it was passed for three weeks. An attorney not affiliated with the case said the negotiated deal could cause problems for the prosecution if the case ever goes to trial. "Hopefully when it does -- all the information comes back -- there will be no plea deal. He will not be allowed to accept a plea deal," Patricia Harris said.

"I hate to see something like that happened to the kid," property owner Gary Morrison said. Morrison has no trespassing signs posted all across the property, but on Monday he took News4Jax back to the edge of his property, where detectives said they found the remains. "You can come in from 9B and that's only 35-40 feet through the swamp to get through this area," Morrison explained. "Right over there where that clear area is, they pushed the dirt back from the mound, pushed it back over the area," Morrison said. He said that this weekend, officers caught two people who walked on the property to see the spot where detectives found the remains.

Ruben Ebron, the man police have long called their prime suspect in the 21-month-old's disappearance, had his visits and calls restricted by a judge in September. In the meantime, Ebron, who reported Lonzie missing in July, saw his father for the first time in months on Monday. William Ebron Sr. spend about two hours with his son at the jail, which is the maximum visitation time. Ebron reported Lonzie missing July 24 and at first claimed that the toddler was abducted when his car was stolen with Lonzie inside. Ebron also faces charges related to a planned escape from jail, but Borello split those into a separate trial.

ORLANDO, Fla. – The judge who presided over the Casey Anthony trial told News4Jax on Thursday that the Lonzie Barton case has uncanny similarities to the 2011 Orlando case that captivated the nation. Her mother, Casey Anthony, was charged with and acquitted of murder in the case. “It's going to be a very difficult road for the prosecution in this case,” Perry said. But without some physical evidence, you would be totally left to speculate as to what the cause of death would be," Perry said. The charges that they were looking at were all non-murder-related charges,” Perry said.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The man who reported his girlfriend's toddler, Lonzie Barton, missing nearly six months ago is on trial on charges of child neglect, lying to police and tampering with evidence. Watch live gavel-to-gavel coverage above and read on for frequent updates from News4Jax reporters inside and outside the courtroom.