Missing 2-Year-Old Found: Body Of LeRoy Toppins Found In Ohio Pond, Autopsy Pending

A missing 2-year-old has been found dead in a pond near his home in Ohio. According to Fox News, the body of LeRoy Toppins was found just beneath the surface of the water on Saturday around 7 p.m. A searcher was checking the area around the pond when he noticed the body. Once the boy’s body was removed from the water, he was pronounced dead.

As of now, the investigation is still ongoing, and authorities are working to confirm that this was just a tragic accident.

“Stanforth’s statement says the child’s parents reported him missing about 6 p.m. Friday. The sheriff says the parents reported that he had been playing in the yard of his Fayette County home before he went missing.”

The missing 2-year-old was found thanks to the help of many people. Not only were there search teams on foot, but there were also divers and a helicopter involved in the search.

According to Yahoo! News, police believe that the young child wandered off, and that he wanted to get close to the water. They say that it appears as though the child just fell in. Fayette County Sheriff Vernon Stanforth seems to believe that LeRoy Toppins was supervised, but that his curiosity about the nearby pond caused him to leave the area where he had been playing.

“We believe the child wandered away, got too close to the water and fell in. There is no indication of foul play. He had his boundaries and unfortunately, something caused him to wander toward the body of water. The parents were near. it’s not like they were somewhere else letting the child roam. In my opinion, it was just a very tragic accident.”

There is always a chance that LeRoy Toppins’ parents will be charged, perhaps with neglect. Many feel that a 2-year-old should not be left “alone” to play outside. As previously reported by the Inquisitr, the child was outside with his siblings, but it’s unclear how old said siblings are, or if they were old enough to supervise the toddler.

An autopsy is currently pending, though it seems obvious that LeRoy’s cause of death will be drowning. Even still, the autopsy should give authorities confirmation of what they suspect. If anything else turns up, proper action will undoubtedly be taken.

After the missing 2-year-old was found dead, his family was left completely devastated.

“Right now, they’re just grappling with the idea that their baby is dead,” said Stanforth.

[Photo via Twitter]