Missing toddler found in container of water on home’s front porch, NC cops say

The search for a missing toddler reached a “devastating” conclusion when the child was found unresponsive in a container of water, according to investigators in eastern North Carolina.

A cause of death for the boy remains under investigation.

The discovery was made around 4:30 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 11, at a rural home southeast of Jacksonville, the Onslow County Sheriff’s Office said in a Dec. 12 news release.

”Deputies responded to a report of a missing 16-month-old boy around the 200 block of Old Timber Road,” the sheriff’s office said.

“Shortly after deputies arrived on the scene, the child was found unconscious and submerged in water inside a container on the front porch of the home. Deputies immediately initiated lifesaving measures until Emergency Medical Services personnel arrived.”

The boy was taken to the Naval Medical Center at nearby Camp Lejeune Marine Corps Base where he was pronounced dead, officials said.

Investigators have not released the child’s identity and did not say if the container was at his family’s home.

“The investigation into the circumstances surrounding the incident is ongoing,” the sheriff’s office said.

Jacksonville is about a 120-mile drive southeast from downtown Raleigh.