N.C. Boy Found Dead Near Chained Pit Bull
The Associated Press
January 14, 2004,
ANDERSON CREEK, N.C. --
A 3-year-old boy reported missing from his home was later found dead next to
a pit bull chained in a neighbor's back yard. Authorities would not confirm
how the child died or that a dog attacked him, but Sheriff Larry Rollins
said today that he had "trauma to the body." Rollins did not identify the
boy, but said he lived in the Anderson Creek community, about 15 miles north
of Fayetteville, where his body was discovered late Tuesday.
The child's mother said he wandered from home around 4:30 p.m. and that she
called 911 to report him missing about two hours later. A responding officer
found the body shortly before 8 p.m. in the next-door neighbor's yard,
authorities said.
"He was found right there in the area of the chained dog," Rollins said. A
deputy had to shoot the dog to reach the body, the sheriff said. A second
dog confined elsewhere on the property was not involved; it was being held
at the county animal shelter, Rollins said.
"All the kids knew they were mean dogs back there," said Jason Walden, who
also lives on the same street. He said the victim was playing with his
6-year-old son Tuesday afternoon -- not long before he disappeared.
Deputies were interviewing the dog's owner, neighbors and the boy's mother.
No charges had been filed today, but Rollins said a search warrant was
obtained. "We're just putting the puzzle together to find out exactly what
did happen," Rollins said.
The boy's father, who was deployed in Iraq, had been contacted by Red Cross
officials, and was coming home.
