A FOUR-year-old boy has been found dead in a pond just hours after vanishing from his front yard.
The unidentified child had been reported missing from his family home in Fairbank, Iowa last Friday at around 5:00 pm.
The Buchanan County Sheriff’s Office found him later that evening, at around 11:40 pm, dead in a nearby pond.
The awful discovery followed an extensive search in cooperation with other local agencies.
Deputies used UTVs, drones, and thermal imaging to aid the search effort.
Deputies do not suspect foul play but investigations are ongoing.
The Office of the Iowa State Medical Examiner will conduct an autopsy to determine the cause of death.
The sheriff’s office confirmed the tragedy in a Facebook post.
They wrote: “This is a multi-agency investigation conducted by the Buchanan County Sheriff’s Office, Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation and Iowa State Patrol, with assistance provided by Buchanan County Emergency Management, Independence Police Department, Hazleton Fire Department, Fairbank Fire Department, Jesup Fire Department, Independence Fire Department and Oelwein MercyOne Ambulance.”
Comments on the post offered condolences to the family.
One user wrote: “Thoughts and prayers lifted for this child’s family, friends, all of the First Responders, and all of the Fairbank community area during this tragedy.
“May the Lord above hold us all. Amen.”
Another said: “Thoughts and prayers to the friends and family. Remember that because someone we love is in heaven, a little bit of heaven is with us. So sorry for your loss.”
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