Father Speaks Out About 5-Year-Old Boy with Autism Who Died After Leaving Home While Mom Napped
“I nurtured him and bathed him and fed him,” said Lawson Amos McCoy about his son Joshua, adding, “I can’t believe this has happened”
Coos County Sheriff’s Office Facebook
Joshua McCoy
The father of a missing 5-year-old Oregon boy who was found dead less than two miles away from his home said he wants what led to the tragic circumstances surrounding his son.
“I want the truth, plain and simple,” Lawson Amos McCoy, the father of the late Joshua James McCoy, told OregonLive.com in an article published on Thursday, Nov. 14. “I don’t care about anything else. My baby’s gone.”
According to the Coos County Sheriff’s Office, Joshua, who had autism, was last seen at his home on Stage Road in Hauser on Saturday, Nov. 9.
Authorities said the boy’s mother woke up from a nap around 5:30 p.m. local time and discovered her son had disappeared.
A missing person report released by the sheriff’s office described Joshua as about 3 feet, 6 inches tall, weighing between 50 and 60 lbs. with brown, shoulder-length hair and brown eyes.
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In a Monday, Nov. 11 Facebook update, the sheriff’s office said the search for Joshua intensified the day before, employing authorities and drones in the surrounding areas. The department also said it requested the help of state and federal agencies.
Then on Nov. 12, the Coos County Sheriff’s Office announced that the boy’s remains were located.
“Today [Nov. 12], around 12:30 PM, Joshua was discovered deceased and found approximately 1.6 miles straight line distance North-West from the child’s residence, and almost 2 miles by road,” authorities stated, adding, “The investigation is ongoing and no additional information will be released at this time.”
Furthermore, the sheriff’s office highlighted, “The areas that have been searched have been very thorough and methodical due to the circumstances behind the disappearance.”
In his interview with OregonLive, Joshua’s father, Lawson, said that he hadn’t seen his son in more than a year after moving back to Ohio. He met his girlfriend in Utah, and they became parents to Joshua. Then, the family moved to Coos Bay after the girlfriend received a job offer as a nurse. While she worked, Lawson, who had served in the Air Force and on disability, took care of Joshua at home.
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Lawson’s brother, Joshua (who shares the same first name as his young nephew) told the outlet that Lawson believes that what happened was his fault because he left Oregon and now feels guilty.
A GoFundMe was established to help pay for the younger Joshua’s funeral expenses which would include having the boy buried in Ohio with his great-grandparents. Money from the fundraiser will also be used for counseling and therapy and to hire a private investigator to look into Joshua’s death.
“I nurtured him and bathed him and fed him. I mean, I knew his favorite foods. I knew his favorite colors,” Lawson said, reported OregonLive. “I can’t believe this has happened.”
PEOPLE reached out to the Coos County Sheriff’s Office and the GoFundMe organizer for comment on Friday, Nov. 15, but they did not immediately respond.
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