Jacob Whaley Virginia dad found dead in snowstorm leaving car to get home to son. Relatives fault Louisa County sheriff’s office failing to find father.
A Virginia man who tried to walk home in a snowstorm last Monday after he crashed his car was found dead three days later, according to reports.
The body of Jacob Whaley, 34, was discovered by a search party Thursday about 200 yards from the location in Louisa where his family had told authorities he may have been after he first disappeared, WRIC reported.
Whaley was trying to walk the six miles to his home in the wintry conditions to be with his 2 year old son.
When he stopped responding and never made it home, his relatives alerted the sheriff’s office and reported Whaley could possibly have been near Greene’s Corner Road.
Deputies responded to the site, but did not initially find him.
‘I’m so angry with this county,’
The location where the missing dad’s abandoned car was found was near the line Hanover County shares with both Spotsylvania and Louisa counties.
Whaley’s relatives said police should have found him alive.
‘I’m so angry with this county,’ Whaley’s mother, Shannon Whaley, told WRIC.
‘All they had to do was go out and holler for him.’
The man’s sister, Angela Whaley, added: ‘Louisa County let him freeze to death.’
Told the relative via WTBR, ‘He had a bond with his son like no other.
‘They adored each other. They were best friends, and he was two and he was 34,’
Searched within their own jurisdictions
‘How do you tell a two year old boy he is never going to see his father again.’
‘He was trying to find a path through the woods because there is a neighborhood that he lives that he could’ve gotten to and walked right across the street and been able to get home,’ Angela said.
Both Hanover and Spotsylvania County Sheriff’s Offices said their deputies searched for Whaley but were only able to search within their jurisdiction.
The Louisa County Sheriff’s Office issued a statement mourning Whaley’s death.
‘Our heartfelt condolences go out to the family and friends of Mr. Jacob Whaley,’ the office said.
‘Missing Persons cases are always a top priority for the Louisa County Sheriff’s Office and we share in their grief and sorrow.’
