Clayton County Police Department said the 6-year-old nonverbal boy who went missing in Riverdale on Sunday was found dead in a pond near his last known location.
Ramon Jett, whom authorities said was autistic and went by “RJ,” had been last seen on the 8000 block of Webb Road between 11:30 a.m. and noon Sunday, police said.
Several jurisdictions, including the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, deployed to search the area, using dive teams, K9 units, drones and a ground search, authorities said. The dogs led searchers to the nearby pond approximately 125 yards from where he was last seen, Clayton police Major Frank Thomas said at a news conference Monday.
The search was called off just after midnight when it got too dark, he said. A few hours after the search continued early Monday morning, dive teams located the boy’s body just after 9 a.m.
“We had a visual sighting in the pond, which we were afraid of. At 9:20 a.m., we confirmed it was RJ and removed him from said pond,” Thomas said. “People are heartbroken about it. We don’t like to see that, but we did the best we could to bring him back to his family.”
Clayton County’s latest news release said the family has been notified. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution was not able to locate the family for comment.
Ramon was described as vulnerable because of his inability to communicate because of a “mental health condition.” Police confirmed Monday the child was autistic.
Clayton County police thanked numerous organizations for their assistance in the search for Ramon, including the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, Clayton County Sheriff’s Office and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
The department said the investigation is ongoing.
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