Toddler found dead in river 10 days after vanishing, Oregon cops say. ‘Little angel’
.png "Dane Paulsen, 2, vanished from his front yard March 1 near Siletz, Oregon, deputies said. He was found dead 10 days later.")
A missing 2-year-old boy was found dead in an Oregon river after 10 days of extensive searching, deputies said.
Dane Paulsen’s body was discovered at about 11:15 a.m. March 11 in the Siletz River, the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office said in a Facebook post.
He was found about 3 miles downstream from his home near Siletz by diver volunteer Juan Heredia of Angels Recovery Dive Team, deputies said.
Heredia, from Stockton, California, heard about the missing child when he was on vacation in Mexico, he told KOIN.
He drove 12 hours to help search for the child and was in the water for two hours before finding him, the news outlet reported.
When Dane first disappeared, rescuers began scouring the area around the home, McClatchy News reported.
Search efforts included a boat combing 14 miles of the river, underwater sonar and drones and hundreds of miles covered by ground teams.
Additionally, police dogs, drones, numerous agencies and over 200 community volunteers all looked for Dane.
After days of searching, teams then turned their attention to the river after discovering evidence linked to the water, deputies said in another post.
“Our thoughts are with the family, who are facing an unbearable sorrow,” Sheriff Adam Shanks said on Facebook.
Many are grieving Dane.
“Though Dane is gone, his spirit will never leave Siletz. He brought people together. And in that way, he will always be home,” Theresa Smith wrote on Facebook.
“But now your smile Dane has now touched the whole world baby Dane, and you will be forever remembered in our hearts, on our minds,” Amber Lambert said in a Facebook post.
“RIP little angel. This child was found not because one specialized resource came in on day 11, but because of the hard, caring dedicated and professional work of Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office’s planning and operational deployments,” Sharon Ward wrote on Facebook.
Siletz is about an 80-mile drive southwest from Salem.
