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Body Of Child Found In Pool During Search For Missing Ohio Toddler With Autism
The body of small child was found in a pool during a frantic search for missing toddler Braylen Noble.
The body of a child was found in a pool during a search for a missing boy with autism at the same Ohio apartment complex where he vanished.
Braylen Noble, 3, was reported missing from his Toledo home on Friday around noon, according to a press release from FBI Cleveland. His mother Dajnae Cox had called 911 dispatchers that afternoon, claiming that he fell from a window in their third-floor apartment, local outlet ABC 13 reports.
Since he vanished, search parties have been desperately trying to locate Noble who is non-verbal and has autism. That search took a grim turn on Wednesday when the body of a child was found in a pool in the back of the apartment complex where Noble lived.
“The body of a small child has been recovered from the pool at Gibralter Heights,” the Toledo Police department noted on Wednesday afternoon.
An official identification will be made by the coroner’s office.
“The investigation has now turned from a Missing Person Investigation to a Death Investigation,” police stated.
Investigators had previously searched the same pool area on Friday, local outlet WTVG reports.
“It’s common practice in police investigations, once an area is searched, if nothing found, to go back and revisit that search area and see if anything was missed," Toledo Police Lt. Kellie Lenhardt told the outlet "But we do want to reiterate that the area was searched numerous times by Toledo Fire and Rescue, the FBI, private search groups, and both live and cadaver dogs.”
Since the toddler vanished, police, fire, park officers and volunteers have been conducting searches of nearby buildings and dumpsters. Drones, a water rescue team and K-9s had also been deployed.
At a Sunday vigil, Noble’s great aunt Joy Goings told NBC 24 that there had “been so much negativity on Facebook about the mom." She said family and loved ones were just trying to focus on finding Noble.
Cox joined a volunteer search team on Monday and pleaded for her son’s safe return.
“If you want to just drop him off somewhere, please drop him off to the police station, you can drop him off here. Call my phone," Cox told NBC 24 on Monday. "I know he's crying, I know you can't get him to stop crying. He's being picky, he's not eating and even if he's scared I won't be mad. Please just drop him off to me. I just want him home. That's it."
