A 5-year-old Oregon boy whose mother said he vanished over the weekend while she was taking a nap has been found dead, authorities said Tuesday evening.
The Coos County Sheriff’s Office announced that the body of Joshua James McCoy was found Tuesday afternoon less than 2 miles from his home in Hauser, an unincorporated community that runs along Route 101 in Oregon. No other details were immediately released.
Joshua, who officials said had autism and went by Josh or Joshie, was reported missing after sundown Saturday. His mom told officers that she and her son had both fallen asleep Saturday afternoon and said that when she woke up at 5:30 p.m., Joshua was gone, according to the Coos County Sheriff’s Office, which did not identify his mother by name.
Children on the autism spectrum
tend to wander, or elope,
from home and other safe places at a higher rate than their peers, according to The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. The child protection organization says that children with autism may be drawn to dangerous environments such as bodies of water, construction sites, highways and train tracks.
In a statement Tuesday evening, Coos County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Sgt. Christopher Gill said that “it is with immense sadness that we have to report that missing Joshua McCoy has been found deceased.”
Gill said that as part of the search for the boy, a “pond on the property was drained and nothing of interest was located.”
The Coos County Sheriff’s Office said in an
update on its Facebook page
Monday evening that teams had been searching for Joshua using drones and K-9 units, among other resources. It also said it had requested additional assistance from state and federal agencies.
Authorities did not answer questions Tuesday evening about whether any charges were possible in connection with Joshua’s death.
“The investigation is still ongoing,” Gill said in an email to NBC News.
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