On Saturday, 2/12/2022, at approximately 11:15 a.m., Bloomington officers were dispatched to a retail store in the 2200 block of W. Market St. for a retail theft. Officers arrested an adult female, identified as Kimberlee A. Burton, 29, of Bloomington, Illinois for retail theft. After the arrest, the father of two of Burton’s children had his mother come pick up his children, who were 5 and 6 years old. During the pick-up, only the two young children were in the residence.
On Sunday, 2/13/2022, at approximately 11:30 p.m., the Bloomington Police Department received a call requesting a well-being check on an infant. The caller was concerned about the infant’s (who also lived with Burton and his two children) well-being and could not locate anyone who was taking care of the infant.
With this information, the BPD began the missing juvenile investigation. Officers attempted to speak with the mother, who was still at the McLean County Jail. Officers also went to Burton’s residence to conduct a well-being check and entered the residence. During a cursory search of the apartment, no infant was found however there were signs that an infant had lived there. Officers applied for several search warrants for the residence to conduct a more thorough search and to collect evidence to be analyzed for the investigation. Officers were able to locate identification information for the three children that lived there. The infant was then identified as Zaraz V. Walker. Officers learned that the father of Zaraz may have lived in Illinois or Florida. They began calling different areas and police department’s where the father may be contacted with negative results.
On Monday, 2/14/2022, at approximately 7:00 a.m., five officers and members of the Criminal Investigation Division began a neighborhood canvas in the 300 block of E. Wood St. After the neighborhood canvas, members of the department began searching the surrounding areas for any evidence of the infant. These efforts continued throughout the day and night.
At approximately 5:00 p.m., the Bloomington Police Department arrested Kimberlee Burton, who is still at the McLean County Jail, for two counts of felony Child Endangerment for the two young children who were left at her residence without supervision after her arrest.
The infant is still listed as missing/endangered. Any person who has had any recent contact with Kimberlee Burton OR Zaraz Walker is asked to contact the Bloomington Police Department’s Sgt. Detective Jared Bierbaum at (309) 434-2807 or jbierbaum@cityblm.org.
Chief of Police Jamal Simington said, “We implore members of the community to view at Zaraz’s and Burton’s photo and to please call us with any tips or information. We believe Zaraz was last seen 5 – 7 days ago, and could be anywhere.”
Note: All suspect(s) are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in the court of law.
If you wish to submit a tip and remain anonymous, please contact the Crime & Intelligence Analysis Unit (CIAU) at (309)-434-2963 or email CIAU@cityblm.org. The CIAU office is staffed from 8am-4:30pm, weekdays. If no one is available to answer your call, please leave the information on the voicemail or send it by e-mail.
