Ohio public safety officials have discovered the body of a 6-year-old boy who went missing on Wednesday.
Late Thursday night, West Chester Township police and fire officials announced the discovery of Joshua Al-Lateef’s body in a pond near his apartment building.
“All public safety in Butler County tonight is grieving with the family, and we wish and pray for them going forward,” West Chester Township Fire Chief Rick Prinz said.
Joshua, who was supposed to turn seven years old next week, was last seen around 5:30 p.m. Wednesday near his family’s apartment on Wyndtree Drive, police said.
On Wednesday, his older brother called 911 to report the child missing, according to an emergency call recording.
Joshua’s bus driver dropped him off earlier in the day, and when police reported him missing from their apartment complex, he was with his adult sister.
Hundreds of volunteers searched tree lines, dumpsters, and other areas where the boy could have sought shelter from the cold. First responders used drones in the air and boots on the ground.
Before the boy’s body was discovered, Prinz speculated that Joshua, who officials said was autistic, had a fascination with water, which led him to one of the several retention ponds on the apartment complex grounds where he lived.
“They lay out the lake into a grid pattern, and they search each grid very methodically, so there are teams physically in the water and on the water with boats,” Prinz told me.
Lindsay Amyx was one of the volunteers who helped. She explained that, as a mother, she felt compelled to assist in the search.
“I have two children, and I understand what this mother is going through. Amyx said, “I have a 19-year-old who is also autistic, so I feel it in my heart when it’s cold outside.” “I just really want to help him and his family.”
Police said earlier on Thursday that they have no reason to believe foul play is involved, but the investigation is ongoing.
