More than six weeks after 16-year-old Jordan “Manny” Collins Jr. disappeared, police in Minnesota have made a heartbreaking announcement. Columbia Heights Police Chief Matt Markham addressed the media in a news conference on July 1. Markham said the family last saw Manny on May 8, 2025, and reported him missing on May 12. Police began a large-scale search and investigation and spoke to several people about Manny and his potential whereabouts. Those interviews led investigators to the Waste Management Landfill in Elk River, Minnesota, where they located human remains.
Police began searching the landfill on June 4, and Markham said they located a human body “this past weekend.” The police chief said investigators completed DNA testing and “sadly, the body has been identified as belonging to Manny Collins.”
Though a coroner completed an autopsy, officials have not yet determined a cause of death, and further testing must be done, the chief said during the news conference. He added that teams continue to investigate the landfill and look for evidence.
Ashley Berry, Manny’s mother, shared her frustration on Facebook early on in the investigation but vowed not to give up.
“Evil is really walking among us! Lord I thank you for giving me strength to keep going and not do anything crazy right now ! This is a nightmare! I wouldn’t wish this pain on anyone! My son don’t deserve this! Thank you God for the detectives , my friends and family and everyone else who’s helping bring my son home,” she wrote in her post. “I can’t thank y’all enough!!! I’m not letting up until he’s home!!!! Found myself questioning God , something I’ve never done before! But I know I can’t do this without him!!!!”
On June 24, before the discovery of her son’s remains, Berry offered a $20,000 reward to anyone who found her son.
She told KARE prior to the discovery that she worried Manny’s father, Jordan Collins Sr., might have been involved in his disappearance.
“In the beginning, he was cooperating, he was helping look for him, and now that stuff has hit the fan, it’s like, you (he) don’t want to talk to anybody,” Berry said. “So that’s a red flag.”
She added she missed her son and called him a “good kid” with an “old soul.”
Anoka County Sheriff Brad Wise also addressed the media during the news conference, asserting that the investigation is not “stagnant” and remains very active.
“I think the fact that a four-week search of the landfill illustrates pretty clearly the tenacity of law enforcement in bringing justice,” he said. “This is a complex investigation.”
Wise asked the public to continue open communication with investigators, particularly if they knew something about Manny’s disappearance or death.
Authorities would not disclose whether his death is considered a homicide or if they have any suspects in Manny’s death.
Wise did allude to possible criminal activity. “Well, a dead body wound up in a landfill, so I guess draw your own conclusion, yes,” he said at the press conference.
