Two-year-Old Oklahoma Toddler Found Dead Less Than 12 Hours After Being Reported Missing

According to authorities and local reports, Ares Muse, a two-year-old toddler, was reported to have left his home between 1:30 a.m. and 6:30 a.m. Monday, September 12. Inside Edition reported that an Ashanti alert was initially released to find the little boy.

Trooper Eric Foster with the Oklahoma Highway Patrol confirmed that tribal, state, federal, and local agencies joined forces to look for the Oklahoma toddler along with first responders. Ares' home was on tribal land. The toddler was said to be wearing black pajamas with various colored dinosaurs.

According to the father, the toddler crawled into bed with his parents, but when the couple woke up, they found out their son was gone. The father, whose name was not revealed, told the Department of Social Services that the two-year-old unlocked three locking mechanisms before he was able to leave the house.

After less than 12 hours of searching, the young boy was found more than a half mile from their home but was unfortunately dead.

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Toddler crawls out of bed and escapes home

Jason Salsman, a spokesperson for the Muscogee Nation, said in an interview that the family and the authorities had talked all day about desiring to attain a good outcome, but unfortunately, they didn't get what they wanted. 

The reason for the toddler's death is still not known, but officials are conducting an investigation, and the family is also cooperating with authorities, Salsman added.

Foster noted that officials received aid from many citizens wanting to help with the search operation, per Our Community Now.

Escaping the house is a normal habit for children as they are still playful but parents, on the other hand, need to understand why kids like escaping the house, Dad Gold says. 

Another toddler, a girl, was found dead in bitterly cold weather

Another toddler from New Hampshire was found dead early Monday in freezing weather just a few feet from her front door after managing to get out of the front door but sadly couldn't get back in.

Newport Police Department said they received numerous 911 calls around 7:10 a.m. regarding an unresponsive little girl who was not breathing. When authorities arrived at the two-story residence, they pronounced the young girl dead. According to the investigation, the family identified the victim as Sofia Van Schhoick. Sofia had left their house alone and could not get back in.

Police Chief James Burroughs said that when he checked the temperature at the scene, it was eight degrees below zero. Burroughs later added that the child died from "exposure to the elements and hypothermia which are consistent with the autopsy results."

Burroughs believed the incident was accidental but didn't believe it was too hard for the child to get out of their house. Lindsay Van Schoick, the toddler's grandfather, said that the family was still processing the tragic incident and trying to understand what happened, says AP News.

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