Mississippi sheriff: Two taken in for questioning after missing toddler’s body found in pond. Second missing child found alive.
Published 3:43 pm Friday, April 21, 2023
Two people have been taken into questioning after the lifeless body of a missing toddler was found in a pond.
The Warren County Sheriff’s Office announced Friday afternoon that its search for the missing toddler had come to a sad end.
The boy, who has not yet been identified, was 3 years old and went missing Friday morning near Stenson Road and Old Highway 27 in Warren County.
Sheriff Martin Pace told The Post the child’s body was found in a pond near the area of the disappearance.
“At about 9:30 a.m., sheriff’s deputies responded to a call on Old Highway 27,” Pace said. “The caller reported that a child, approximately 5 years of age, had just appeared at her home. She had no idea where the child had come from.”
The child had special needs, Pace said, and was nonverbal.
The sheriff’s office immediately began a door-to-door search to bring the child home.
“About an hour later, at about 10:30, we located his mother and an acquaintance at a residence in the area,” Pace said. “They did not know the child was even missing from the home.
“Even more disturbing, it was soon discovered another child was missing,” he added. “Every sheriff’s deputy on duty was out there. We got the Vicksburg Police Department drone. We were actually in communication with Highway Patrol. They were preparing to launch their helicopter.”
Before that could happen, however, Pace said deputies found the child’s body in a pond.
A member of sheriff’s office personnel waded into the pond to retrieve the child and, upon reaching the bank, performed life-saving measures in an effort to revive him.
He was pronounced dead at the scene by Coroner Doug Huskey.
Pace said the surviving child has been turned over to Child Protective Services, and the mother and her acquaintance, identified as a boyfriend, were taken in for questioning.
“We are not releasing any names until family members can be notified,” Pace said, adding that criminal charges are possible in this case once interviews are completed and his office has communicated with the District Attorney.
