Smithfield — A 3-year-old boy reported missing Sunday from a local flea market was not in Johnston County when a woman claiming to be his mother called police to report his disappearance.

That revelation and others were made this morning during a press conference in the council chambers at Town Hall. Smithfield Police Chief Steve Gillikin said Siraj Munir Davenport “was never abducted from the [Brightleaf Flea Market]” and that authorities “know where he is and that he is safe.”

Gillikin said police were glad that Davenport had been found safe in the custody of a family. But he said it was “very frustrating” that authorities had spent time and money on an investigation that later proved unwarranted. The police chief would not comment on a rumor that the boy is with his father, David Davenport, a zoologist currently on business in Vietnam.

Gillikin said investigators are still working to piece together a puzzling family life. He did not answer when asked whether David Davenport and Rosnah Thomason, the woman who reported Siraj missing on Sunday, were even the boy’s biological parents. He also declined to comment on whether Siraj was caught in the middle of a custody dispute.

“There are still too many unanswered questions,” Gillkin said.

On Sunday, police issued an Amber Alert for Siraj when Thomason called police to report that he had disappeared. Thomason claimed she was loading up the family car with food purchased for a cookout when her son suddenly disappeared.

Gillikin said it was still too early to tell whether Thomason might be charged with any crimes. Federal authorities questioned her on Monday.