A missing 3-year-old boy who was the subject of a massive search overnight was found dead inside a van in Iron County, Mo.
Police found Titus Greyson Tackett, 3, dead at about 11 a.m. after someone saw him inside the van and flagged down a volunteer involved in the search, according to the Missouri Highway Patrol. His body was inside the van, covered by a blanket. The van was about a mile from the boy's home.
Authorities had searched overnight for Titus after his family told police they feared he had gotten outside and wandered away from a home near the Lake Killarney area of Arcadia Township. They told police they last saw the boy at about midnight Tuesday, and that he had been wearing only a diaper.
Iron County Sheriff Roger Medley told the Daily Journal Online that the boy's parents reportedly had run an errand at about midnight and left the child with a grandparent. They returned at about 1:30 a.m. to discover the door to the house open and the child missing, the sheriff said.
The patrol said an autopsy will be conducted, and the results of the autopsy will determine if any foul play was involved.
The temperatures hovered around 15 degrees at midnight, dropped to 14 degrees at 4 a.m. and, by sunrise, it was 17 degrees, according to the National Weather Service.
The area is about 90 miles south of St. Louis.
Authorities had searched for the boy using a Highway Patrol helicopter with infrared radar, along with dogs and volunteers on the ground.