PUTNAM DISTRICT, Fla. – After more than 24 hours of searching, the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office on Monday announced it had found 1-year-old Jose Lara.
They found his body in a septic area of the property. Sheriff Gator DeLoach said weeds, dirt and plywood covered the opening, and the boy appeared to have stepped on rotting plywood and fell in.
HD Police Chief Gator DeLoach said: “It’s not a common practice in a situation like this where a child goes missing looking for a septic tank. “In fact, one of our leadership team members made the call to unclog the septic tank. It was unfortunate that we discovered the child’s body.”
“We are praying for him,” said Albert Gutierrez, pastor of Iglesia Internacional JesuCristo Es El Senor. “The church was praying, hoping everything was fine but they thought maybe it was a kidnapping, but it didn’t happen.”
The church is located next to Lara’s family. It serves the already densely populated local Hispanic community in the southern Crescent City area.
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Pastor Gutierrez leased the property to Jose’s family and said the child’s mother had recently moved to Florida from Central America.
“I guess she came from Honduras over a year ago,” Gutierrez said. “Because she was pregnant, her husband was here. She’s had a baby.” Gutierrez continued, “So about a year. Horrible for this family. Yes. No words at all.”
Janet Arce, a non-profit, has been driving from Deland to help Lara’s family since the search began.
“We just decided this morning that we want to cook and help,” says Arce.
Since Sunday afternoon, the teams have been working together and with the hounds to find Jose. Their terrestrial search includes a mile to two square mile radius and temperature detection technology.
The Sheriff’s Office says there is nothing to indicate foul play, but it is still an active investigation. Sheriff DeLoach asked people to keep their families in their prayers.
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Attorney Kay Harper Williams represents the family of Amari Harley, a 3-year-old boy who drowned in an unsafe septic tank at Jacksonville Park in 2017.
“This is a completely preventable tragedy,” she said.
She says that these types of drownings happen several times a year across the country and that simple actions can save lives.
“If it’s true that the septic tank opening is covered with plywood, that won’t meet any standards and it must have a layer of high-density plastic and those lids are less than $50,” says Williams. ,” Williams said.
The search for the missing 1-year-old boy began Sunday afternoon in an area south of U.S. Highway 17, just north of the Volusia County line.
Jose Lara was last seen around 1:15pm playing with his siblings in the backyard of their house. His mother brought his siblings in to shower, and when she returned, Jose was gone.
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Colonel Joseph Wells of the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office issued an update Monday morning and said three bloodhounds, two air units and dozens of deputies helped with the search.
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