(Chicago-AP) -- A published report says authorities are beginning to doubt that a boy brought to an Illinois hospital is Tristen "Buddy" Myers.

Investigators are awaiting results of DNA tests that will determine if a 6-year-old boy identified as Eli Quick is actually Tristen, who disappeared from a North Carolina home two and a-half years ago and has not been seen since.

The DNA results could come as early as today.

A source familiar with the investigation has told the Chicago Tribune that authorities are turning away from the theory that the boy is Tristen.

The state placed the boy in foster care after a man named Ricky Quick took him to an Evanston hospital. Ricky Quick contends he has raised the child since he was a baby.

A woman in southern Illinois is also denying that the boy is Tristen. She says her sister is the one who gave birth to Eli Quick -- and that the sister gave the boy to Ricky Quick when he was seven or eight months old.

Copyright 2003 Associated Press, All rights reserved.
This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.