Boy With Autism Found Dead Near Train Tracks After Going Missing From SoCal Home
A search for a missing child ended with a grim discovery Saturday — the lifeless body of an 8-year-old boy, who authorities say was likely struck by a train.
Kaden Lanphear’s father last saw his autistic son about 7 a.m. at their Needles home, in the 500 block of California Avenue, according to the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department.
By 8:25 a.m., an extensive search had commenced.
Deputies, search-and-rescue volunteers, a Marine unit and a sheriff’s helicopter combed the city, which borders Arizona.
“A reverse 9-1-1 notification was made to over a thousand telephones in the Needles area in an attempt to seek the public’s assistance in locating Kaden,” the Sheriff’s Department said in a statement.
At 11 a.m., across the state line, the Mohave County Sheriff’s Department received a call. A body had been found near railroad tracks in a rural area near Yucca, Ariz., 30 or so miles east of Needles.
San Bernardino County and Mohave County sheriff’s detectives went to view the body. Their preliminary investigation “indicates the strong possibility” they found Kaden’s body, according to the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department.
Investigators believe Kaden boarded an eastbound train in Needles and got off near Yucca, where he was likely hit by a passing train.