By Kimberly Hopson
L’Observateur

GARYVILLE – The remains of 17-year-old Mikivon Anderson were recovered Thursday after months of fruitless searching and dead-end tips.

The boy’s body was found in the woods near the train tracks in Mt. Airy, buried in a shallow two-foot hole. St. John Parish Sheriff Mike Tregre said they were able to locate the body after a suspect in the crime pointed his officers toward to a general location in the wooded area during an interview on Wednesday.

“We had a bunch of calls telling us where he might be. We’ve been searching with the helicopter, the horses, the four-wheelers and on foot. We’ve been looking for a while. But this week we finally got a tip. Based on the information received, we developed a suspect, who led us to a wooded property,” said Tregre.

Even with the tip, the body may never have been found without the sensitive noses of cadaver dogs from Klaas Kids Search Center. Tregre said that at least five of the dogs helped identify the potential location of the grave.

Nickie Monica, the former St. John Parish president and state representative, helped clear the wooded area with a Bobcat. He had the help of inmates, the Garyville Fire Department and residents of the area. Officers then made camp overnight at the site on Wednesday evening.

Mary Manhein, director of the LSUFACES laboratory, provided assistance excavating the area on Thursday morning. Tregre also said he and his officers helped dig up the area with their own hands.

“She is one of the best in the country at cases like this, where bodies need to be recovered. With her working with St. John Sheriff’s Office, we were able to do a very methodical crime scene search for the body,” he said.

Tregre said during a press conference Friday afternoon that the body has been positively identified and the cause of death was a gunshot wound, though it hasn’t been determined how many times he was shot or where. The remains were in good enough condition after four months to perform the autopsy, according to St. John Parish coroner Christy Montegut.

The St. John Sheriff’s Office also made two major arrests regarding the boy’s disappearance. Tregre said he is expecting to arrest at least one more suspect soon.

Two 18-year-olds, Nathis Burl and Brandon Braxton, both of Mount Airy, were arrested Wednesday and booked with second-degree murder, conspiracy to second-degree murder, obstruction of justice — tampering with evidence — and an attachment.

The bond for both Burl and Braxton is $1.6 million.

The family of the missing boy referred to Braxton during an interview in April, saying that he was with Anderson the day he disappeared. Eugene said she was suspicious because Braxton had not spoken a word to the family since Anderson was reported missing, though he appeared to be good friends with the boy. Anderson was a cousin of Braxton.

There were no tears in response to the news from the boy’s family, who said they are more relieved than sad. Many of the boy’s cousins, friends and other family members camped on the roadside near the scene throughout the early morning hours and long into the heat of the day, waiting for answers. Anderson had been missing for more than four months.

His family has now focused their attention on suspects in the case.

“God is so awesome. God gave me the best gift on my anniversary yesterday — closure,” said Eugene.
“I’m just glad they found him, and I know where he is now. But now, get all of them that were involved and send them to jail. Let them pay for it,” said the boy’s mother, Sheila Bryant.

Eugene agreed with the statement, saying, “Just like we needed that closure, now we need justice.”
The family plans a vigil for Mikivon Anderson at the site of recovery on Saturday, Aug. 3 at 6 p.m.