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Search for missing toddler Owen Hidalgo-Calderon to resume at 8 a.m. Saturday in Sodus

The search for 14-month-old Owen Hidalgo-Calderon in the fields of a Wayne County apple orchard will resume on Saturday morning.

This story contains reporting from Gannett Albany

WAYNE COUNTY, NY - The search for 14-month-old Owen Hidalgo-Calderon in the fields of a Wayne County apple orchard will resume on Saturday morning.

During a news conference Friday evening, Wayne County Sheriff Barry Virts said more than 145 people, including numerous volunteers from local fire and ambulance companies, combed through the orchards on Joy Road looking for any sign of the boy, who has been missing since May 16.

Police recovered the bagged body of Owen's mother, Selena Hidalgo-Calderon, 18, from a wooded area of the farm on Wednesday.

Virts said although his office issued an AMBER Alert for the 14-month-old boy on Friday morning, he has no evidence that the boy was abducted and believes the search will end in a body recovery.

"As a father and grandfather, my heart would like to tell me that we will find young Owen alive, but my experience in law enforcement tells me we will not," he said.

Plans are for volunteers and police to resume their search of the 350-acre farm at 8 a.m. Saturday. If their efforts remain unsuccessful, the search will begin again on Sunday.

Police on Friday did recover a telephone they believe belongs to 25-year-old Alberto "Ebavardo Gutierrez" Reyes, Selena Hidalgo-Calderon's boyfriend.

Reyes was charged on Thursday with a felony count of tampering with physical evidence for allegedly moving Hidalgo-Calderon's body to the woods from their shared residence on the farm. He will be in court on Tuesday.

Police believe Selena Hidalgo-Calderon was killed in the couple's home at the Joy Road farm, where they had lived for about three weeks. Trail camera footage showed Reyes moving "in and out of the woods," carrying a shovel, over a five-hour period on May 17, Virts said. Reyes was apprehended Wednesday night in York, Livingston County.

On Friday, Virts said Reyes has not provided any information about Owen and asked for an attorney. He is no longer being interviewed by police.

Virts said during their investigation, police learned that Reyes had thrown a phone out the window on Route 104 during a recent trip to Attica. Virts did not say why Reyes went to Attica, or who was driving.

More: Police find body of mom Selena Hidalgo-Calderon; 1-year-old son still missing

Law enforcement officials are in the process of obtaining a warrant to search that phone.

Described by family as a "hard-working" young mother from Guatemala, Selena Hidalgo-Calderon has been in the U.S. since November 2016.

“My daughter and my grandson were my life, she was my first born and I feel like a piece of my heart is gone," Estela Calderon, Hidalgo-Calderon's mother, said in a statement through the Workers' Center of Central New York.

Calderon reported her daughter and grandson missing on Sunday, three days after last texting with Hidalgo-Calderon. The two typically communicate at the end of each day, Calderon said.

Owen, who typically attends day care when his mother works, did not attend on May 17 or 18.

Reyes, deputies said, is not Owen's father. The boy's dad lives in Guatemala.

Hidalgo-Calderon was in the process of being deported and her family was in the process of applying for asylum. Her next court appearance was scheduled for June 5.

Virts said he did not believe her death was in any way linked to her immigration status.

Anyone with information is being asked to contact the Wayne County Sheriff’s Office at tip@co.wayne.ny.us or by phone at (315) 946-9711. They can also reach out to the Worker's Center of Central New York at (315) 657-6799.

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