The body has been found of a five-year-old boy who went missing five days ago near the Grand Canyon.
Jerald Joseph Williams of Colorado City wandered off on Thursday afternoon while chasing grasshoppers.
Coconino County sheriff’s officials said his body was discovered on Monday.
No other details about the death were immediately released.
Jerald had been staying with about 20 friends and family members at a remote campsite in Kaibab National Forest north of the Grand Canyon.
Jerald and his mom had wandered about 100 or 200 yards from the main camp site, according to sheriff’s deputies, and the five-year-old was busy chasing grasshoppers when his mom ‘lost sight’ of him at around 1.30pm on Thursday.
No signs of an abduction or foul play have surfaced, said police. Gerry Blair, a spokesman for the Coconino County Sheriff’s Office, said the child’s parents were devastated.
‘I don’t think the mother has left the command post,’ he said. ‘She had been there the whole time.’ He added that Jerald’s father had been ‘very involved’ in the search.
Blair said the group at the campsite – which is 12 miles south of Jacob Lake – didn’t immediately call authorities because they thought they would easily find Jerald. But about four hours later, they called police.
‘We didn’t get this thing until 5:30pm (Thursday),’ said Blair. ‘We did as much as we could with both operations on the ground and in the air, but we were short on daylight.’
Around 400 people took part in the five-day search, which involved military helicopters equipped with night-vision equipment, ground crews with dogs and ATVs.
