Jermaine Jones missing autistic Watertown, Michigan toddler found dead after wandering away from home the day before. No foul play suspected.
The body of a missing 2 year old toddler was found on Tuesday afternoon, Michigan authorities announced. The boy’s death follows the ‘nonverbal autistic’ child wandering off his family’s home, the day earlier.
Jermain Jones was found dead along a creek bed close to his home at Looking Glass River, following a large-scale search in Watertown Township.
The autistic boy was reported missing at around 2 p.m. Monday and was last seen walking from his home off South Bauer Road in northern Watertown.
No foul play suspected
‘It is with great sadness that we are reporting that the missing child was located deceased,’ the Clinton County Sheriff’s Office posted on Facebook. ‘Please pray for the family during this tragic time.’
At least 300 volunteers and law enforcement members from multiple local and state agencies, searched for Germain throughout the day Monday and more than 500 were on hand Tuesday, prior to the discovery of the missing boy’s body.
At the time of his disappearance, Jermaine was with a babysitter, who said she was in the shower for less than 10 minutes when the non verbal autistic child wandered off, Wood TV reported.
Multiple people saw Jones, walking north on Bauer Road near Avalon and Riverside Drive shortly after he ventured out of his home, the sheriff added.
At the time of the boy’s disappearance, Jermaine was wearing a blue sweatshirt with dinosaurs on it, a pair of shorts with shark images on it. He wore no shoes.
The temperature in the area dipped as low as 42 degrees at 3 a.m. Tuesday, according to the National Weather Service Grand Rapids office, and remained in the low 40s later that morning.
No foul play is suspected at this time, police said.
A medical examiner will determine the toddler’s cause and manner of death, officials said.
