WASHINGTON COUNTY, INDIANA, Ind. — Jeff Meredith was glued to his phone on Friday, March 15. When Indiana State Police (ISP) announced there was a "significant arrest" in a high-profile case, he knew he had to hear it for himself.
"I had a very good feeling," Meredith said.
Meredith is the man known to many as the mushroom hunter who found 5-year-old Cairo Jordan's body in a suitcase on his property in rural Washington County two years ago. Friday was a day he had been praying for.
In front of the ISP Post in Sellersburg, Indiana, Stg. Carey Huls announced Cairo's mother, 38-year-old Dejaune Anderson, had been arrested in California.
Anderson is charged with murder, neglect of a dependent and obstruction of justice. She’s the second woman arrested in Cairo's death.
"You can run girl, but you can't hide," Meredith said in an one-on-one exclusive interview with WHAS11.
When Meredith heard the arrest he said he had a mix of emotions after the long-awaited news finally became a reality.
"I was kind of saddened but yet happy for [Cairo]," he said. "You know, it's never easy when it comes to a parent and their child, but wrong is wrong. And now she's got to answer for all the bad things she's done in her life. And she will answer [for them] again after her death."
After the press conference wrapped up and the stream ended, Meredith said he immediately went over to Cairo's gravesite.
"I told him to rest in peace now. Justice will be served...I think it had to be said," Meredith said. "I visit him quite often. You know, in my heart I've adopted him as my own, in my heart. And that means a lot to me."
And that's when Meredith said his phone began to blow up. He's not the only one invested in the 5-year-old boy's story.
The Washington County community wrapped its arms around Cairo long before his name was known. The community held a funeral for him and named him "Angel" before finding out his real name. His headstone is still surrounded by flowers, toys and trinkets almost two years later. Workers said that the grave has visitors daily.
"My community, that I live in, came together and helped an innocent soul that they had no idea who he was, and took care of him and loved him the way he needed to be loved before his death," Meredith said.
While law enforcement continues work to extradite Anderson back to Indiana, Meredith said that he will continue to follow the case every step of the way.
"I'll be watching every moment I've got to make sure that justice is really served," he said.
And although the end of this story hasn't been written yet, Meredith finds comfort in already knowing how his will end.
"It makes me happy knowing I'm going to die someday and I'm going to speak to that little feller," he said. "I'm going to tell him everything that Washington County has done for him and why they did."
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