Body of missing 5-year-old Oregon boy found days after he was reported missing

COOS COUNTY, Ore. (KCBY) — An Oregon sheriff’s office has confirmed that the body of a missing 5 year old has been found.

Joshua James McCoy went missing three days ago with almost 100 people went looking for him on Tuesday, including the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and local fire departments.

The Coos County Sheriff’s Office confirmed the boy’s body was found Tuesday afternoon.

“It is with immense sadness that we report that missing Joshua McCoy has been found deceased,” CCSO said in a news release Tuesday around 6 p.m.

McCoy was missing since late Saturday eveningNovember 9. He was reported to the North Coos dispatch center via a third party at 6:27 p.m. First responders arrived on scene at 6:45 p.m.

Shortly afterwards, it was discovered that the child had a cell phone, and a phone ping of that phone was conducted.

“The information regarding the phone ping did not yield any fruitful information,” CCSO said.

Several officers began searching the property while investigating allegations that McCoy had been picked up by a known family member, which later turned out not to be factual, the Sheriff’s Office said. An ‘Attempt To Locate’ (ATL) has been sent to all surrounding authorities.

On Sunday, November 10, officers continued to search the property and surrounding areas, along with several volunteers from Coos County Search and Rescue, including K9 units, and ground and drone operators. A pond on the property was drained and nothing of interest was found.

During Sunday’s search, additional resources were requested from neighboring counties in southern Oregon and northern California. Law enforcement remained on scene until the next crews arrived in the morning to continue the investigation.

At around 6 a.m. on Monday, November 11, emergency services and search and rescue volunteers continued the operation. Several members of the local fire department arrived on scene to assist. Additional CORSAR assistance was requested for the following day, consisting of search and rescue members from several counties in Oregon and California.

On Tuesday, November 12, the search continued with assistance from federal partners, local Search and Rescue, and CORSAR.

On Tuesday, Nov. 12, around 12:30 p.m., McCoy was found deceased about 1.5 miles due northwest of the child’s home and nearly two miles down the road, police said.

The investigation is ongoing.

More from CCSO:

The areas searched were conducted very thoroughly and methodically due to the circumstances behind the disappearance. We have had great support from the community in feeding all these volunteers.

Thank you to the departments and agencies that support the Coos County Sheriff’s Office; Homeland Security, FBI, OSP, NCMEC, Bandon PD, MP PD, Coos Bay PD, Lincoln Co. SO, all seven CORSAR counties, including Charleston Fire, NB Fire, Coquille Fire, Mp Fire, and Ambulance.