Silent_GOS/iStock/Thinkstock(AURORA, Colo.) –A child’s body was found under an icy pond in Aurora, Colorado, during the search for a 6-year-old boy who went missing days ago, authorities said Tuesday. The body has not yet been identified.
After David Puckett, 6, was reported missing from his home on New Year’s Eve, police initiated an “intensive search” and investigation, Aurora Police Chief Nick Metz said at a news conference today.
The Aurora police, the FBI and the National Center of Missing and Exploited Children were among those involved in the search, including more than 200 volunteer citizens, Metz said. The search zeroed in on the lake after clues from a search dog; divers later pulled the body to the surface.
“I had the unfortunate experience of having to inform David’s family of what we found,” Metz said. “We informed the family of where … we found the individual. And we did let the family know it was going to take some before we could have a positive identification.”
The Puckett family is “devastated,” Metz added. “Please respect their privacy as they’re going through trying to process all this.”
The area near the pond has been designated a crime scene, according to Metz.
“Our officers are going to continue in this investigation … until we have definitive word on the final outcome,” he said.
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