HINDSVILLE (KFSM) --We now know more about the circumstances surrounding the death of a toddler in Madison County after he wandered away from home Tuesday (August 23) evening.
The 2-year-old boy whose body was found Wednesday (August 24) morning at crossbow ranch is Aiden Spencer Johnson.
His family identified him in a Go-Fund-Me page set up to cover his funeral costs.
Madison County Sheriff Phillip Morgan said the boy`s grandmother told deputies she was outside with the toddler when he wandered away.
“The little boy was there playing in the flower bed with a little kitten and she went back in the house for just a second for some reason and when she came back he was gone, he wasn`t there, it was like he disappeared,” Morgan said.
Morgan said more than a hundred people were searching for the child within an hour of finding out he was missing. They continued searching throughout the night.
In a media release sent Wednesday (August 24) the sheriff's office said the boy was found in a septic tank, but the sheriff said it was more of a small hole that was filled with water.
He said the property owners didn't know it was there and searchers checked the area several times before they spotted it.
“It`s awful to think you that we could not see him and not find him you know...the hole was camouflaged with grass,” Morgan said.
Morgan said the child likely crawled under a fence and made it only about 50 feet before falling in the hole.
“They was devastated, it was terrible...the most terrible thing I`ve seen," Morgan said. "And I know the Grandpa personally and you know it was awful.”
Morgan said investigators don't suspect any foul play.
The sheriff said nearly 20 agencies helped with the search efforts for the boy.