Body of missing 1-year-old found in septic tank

CRESCENT CITY – The search for a missing child ended after 24 hours when law enforcement officials said they found his body Monday in a septic tank just outside his home. 

“As a contractor arrived and began probing, one of our investigators saw an area that was overgrown, but had a spot that appeared to have been disturbed,” Putnam County Sheriff Gator DeLoach said during a press conference Monday afternoon. 

The sheriff said law enforcement officials started to remove debris from the area around the septic cleanout and found Jose Lara’s body submerged just before 1:30 p.m. 

“Tonight, if you’re so inclined, I’d ask all of you to please pray for, not only the family, but also each of the first responders who came and gave selflessly of (themselves) and volunteered their own time to come and look for this child,” DeLoach said. 

The investigation is ongoing, but he said there is nothing at this time to indicate the possibility of foul play. 

The septic tank was ground-level, and covered with dirt and a piece of plywood, DeLoach said, that had been there for some time. When the 22-month-old stepped onto the piece of plywood, law enforcement officials believe he fell in. 

“After he fell in, it appears as though there was, I guess, some spring in the board itself, and it almost came back into the same position that it would have been in originally,” DeLoach added. 

While DeLoach did not know an exact estimate, he believes the septic area was no more than 40 yards from Jose's home. 

He also added that the agency had “no indication” Sunday evening that the septic tank had been disturbed. Multiple law enforcement agencies worked with the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office to aid in the search that began a little after 1:45 p.m. Sunday. 

Jose's mother had been watching him and his sister play outside in the family’s backyard shortly before he went missing, according to Col. Joe Wells. He said his mother had taken his sister inside the house to get her cleaned up and when she came back outside to the backyard, she could not find her son. 

Helicopters, drones and K-9 units were part of the search, and DeLoach said the dogs did not track Jose's scent off the property Sunday. 

The sheriff’s office made the announcement at 2 p.m. Monday, and said the family had been notified just shortly before then about Jose's death. DeLoach said during the afternoon press conference that he had not yet been in contact with the family. 

Rev. Karl Flagg, pastor of Mt. Tabor Baptist Church in Palatka and chaplain for the sheriff’s office, offered prayer during the search Monday morning. Even before Jose's body had been found, Flagg said prayer and support is always needed in an instance such as this.

“(Law enforcement officers) need our prayers because of the responsibility that they have to try to bring resolution to whatever type of scene that we’re dealing with, and then the families as well as the community – especially (with) the profile of a case like this,” Flagg said. 

“A lot of people are empathetic. So we’re here just to provide support, and when we say support, it doesn’t matter whether it’s spiritual support, or whether we just need to make (someone) a sandwich.”

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