A five-year-old boy who allegedly went missing while his mom was taking a nap has been found dead.
Joshua James McCoy, from Oregon, disappeared on Saturday afternoon (November 9) from the Hauser area, the Coos County Sheriff’s Office revealed in a press release.
The little boy’s mother told authorities that she took a nap with her son at around 1PM and when she woke up at 5:30PM, he was gone, PEOPLE reported.
Joshua James McCoy went missing on November 9. Credit: Coos County Sheriff’s Office
Joshua, who was autistic, was described as 3 feet, 6 inches tall and 50 to 60 pounds, with brown eyes and brown shoulder-length hair in the missing person’s poster.
Per the report, he responded to “Josh” or “Joshie,” although he “may not respond when called to”.
Police launched a desperate search with federal partners, local Search and Rescue, and CORSAR, the California Oregon Regional Search and Rescue Task Force.
It was discovered that the child had a phone, and a phone-ping of that device was conducted.
“The information related to the phone-ping did not provide any fruitful information,” CCSO added, per CBS Austin.
According to ABC News, deputies drained a pond on the family’s land while deploying drones and police dogs to the surrounding area. However, nothing of interest was located.
On Tuesday (November 12), cops tragically discovered the five-year-old’s body about 1.6 miles away from his home, the Coos County Sheriff’s Office disclosed in an update post on Facebook.
They issued a statement, which read: “It is with immense sadness that we have to report that missing Joshua McCoy has been found deceased. Joshua had been missing since the late evening of Saturday, November 9th, 2024. Joshua was reported to North Coos dispatch via third party at 6:27PM.
“On Tuesday, Nov. 12, the search continued with help from our federal partners, local Search and Rescue, along with CORSAR,” the department penned. “CORSAR is providing additional Search and Rescue members from California, and from several Counties within Oregon.
“Today, around 12:30PM, Joshua was discovered deceased and found approximately 1.6 miles straight line distance North-West from the child’s residence, and almost 2 miles by road,” the release added.
Joshua James McCoy’s body was discovered on November 12. Credit: Coos County Sheriff’s Office
The little boy would have turned six years old this Saturday. His cause of death remains unknown at this time.
Police have not revealed whether they are considering filing criminal charges in the missing child case. The sheriff’s office previously noted that nothing is being ruled out as the agency continues its probe.
“The investigation is ongoing and no additional information will be released at this time,” they added.
Police have launched an investigation after a severed human head was found on a popular beach in Miami.
The gruesome discovery was made by a frightened worker who was raking the sand in the popular hotspot.
Miami-Dade Police Department arrived at Key Biscayne after receiving reports and quickly cordoned off the area with tape and traffic cones as they began their investigation with homicide detectives.
The police confirmed the head was human but have not determined whether it belonged to a man or woman. They are working with the Medical Examiner’s Office to identify the individual.
The department shared that it is too early to tell if the decapitation is connected to any recent cases in the area, including one of a teenager who went missing.
The stomach-curdling find has left many residents in the community feeling shaken and worried.
Bahman Amini, who has lived in a nearby condominium building for 40 years, told CBS News Miami: “We have seen all things here but nothing like what was found this morning, the head of a person. It makes us scared to go to the beach that we love.”
“This is shocking, shocking. You don’t hear a lot about that. You heard about drugs washing up on shore and things like that, but a head!” another resident named Marcelo Borrelli said.
Resident Mollie McAuliffe shared that they have “questions” about where the severed head came from. “It is pretty upsetting,” she added.
Even tourists visiting Florida were spooked by the discovery.
Kristy Sippel, from New York City, told the publication: “It is scary. I would like to know what happened.”
Alex Portuondo, who used to live in South Florida, said that the whole ordeal is “pretty scary and crazy” as they’ve never “heard of anything like this happening before on this kind of beach”.
“I guess I am curious if they have any information on where it came from, if anything else has been found, if it happened here on the island or washed up on the shore,” Alex continued.
“I guess I assume it might have happened someplace else and washed up here but I do worry because of this,” they added.
