The search for a missing nonverbal 7-year-old in Asheboro ended Tuesday morning with the discovery of the boy’s body in a nearby pond.
Randolph County authorities say Liam King was staying with his mother’s boyfriend when he wandered off sometime Sunday.
Hundreds of first responders and volunteers combed the area over the land and local waterways while drones and spotters in planes and helicopters tried to find him from above.
The search ended late Tuesday morning when his body was discovered in a pond about a tenth of a mile away from the home.
Sheriff Gregory Seabolt says it was one of the longest search and rescue efforts in the county’s history, and the outcome saddened him.
“You know, this child had a life to live, and it was taken away from him," he says. "I know he's in a much better place now, though.”
He says the investigation is ongoing and he wouldn’t rule out charges in the case. The body is being sent to the Chief Medical Examiner’s Office in Chapel Hill for an autopsy.
Seabolt praised the work of all of those who participated in the search for Liam. He says the department has a peer-support network that can help the search team cope with the loss.