Now that Dylan Redwine’s remains have been found, investigators can focus exclusively on who is responsible for the 13-year-old boy’s disappearance.

Early in its investigation, the La Plata County Sheriff’s Office ruled out the possibility that Dylan ran away.

“Runaways always surface in a relatively short period of time,” Dan Bender, spokesman with the La Plata County Sheriff’s Office, said Thursday afternoon. “Word is heard from them or friends see them, unless some harm has come to them.”

He added: “Looking at the profile and the history provided by the family of Dylan, allowed us to rule out runaway very early on.”

With the passage of time, the Sheriff’s Office “let go of the hope” that he was a runaway, Bender said.

“Any clue that we get in a criminal investigation puts us one step closer to solving the crime and identifying what happened and by whom,” Bender said. “We have collected a variety of clues from the Middle Mountain search which automatically brings us closer to our goal.”

A tip line has been set up with the La Plata County Sheriff’s Office to collect information about Dylan’s disappearance.

The line is not answered but collects messages and is checked frequently by investigators.

Call 382-7511.

Tips can be left anonymously, but if the caller wants a reply, a callback number is needed.

Anonymous tips may also be left with Durango-La Plata Crime Stoppers at 247-1112; or the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children at (800) 843-5678. A reward for finding Dylan now stands at more than $50,000.

Shane Benjamin