The body of a missing 2-year-old Ohio boy was found in a pond near his home just over 24 hours after he went missing Friday.
LeRoy J. Toppins, of Fayette County, Ohio, was found in 3 feet of water about 3 feet from the shoreline of the pond, which was near the Toppins’ home,
the Washington-Court House Record Herald reported.
“We believe the child wandered away, got too close to the water and fell in,” Fayette County Sheriff Vernon Stanforth told the local paper. “There is no indication of foul play. The family has been extremely cooperative throughout the entire process. This is a body of water that’s been there as long as the parents have been there. They were outside with the child. He had his boundaries and unfortunately, something caused him to wander toward the body of water. The parents were near ... it’s not like they were somewhere else letting the child roam. Several family members were also in the nearby barn. No indication of foul play, no indication of neglect. In my opinion, it was just a very tragic accident.”
Toppins’ parents, Dustin Toppins and Anna Karber, reported the boy missing on Friday evening, the Record Herald said. His body was found Saturday.
Stanforth told the newspaper that hundreds of people searched for the boy; the grief-stricken family told him how much they appreciated the support.
“But right now, they’re just grappling with the idea that their baby is dead,” Stanforth said.
After LeRoy Toppins went missing, family members and many from the community gathered to search. At the time,
Angel Jones, a family member, told ABC 6 that she was helping to look through woods nearby.
"He's afraid of water, so I know he wouldn't go down to the pond. He never travels far from his parents," Jones told the station.