‘WORST POSSIBLE SCENARIO’

Body of Missing 1-Year-Old Found in Florida Septic Tank

Searchers found Jose Lara’s remains on Monday, but Putnam County Sheriff Gator DeLoach said there is no evidence of foul play.

The remains of a 1-year-old boy who went missing over the weekend were found Monday in a septic tank behind his family’s Jacksonville, Florida home, police said. Deputies discovered Jose Lara’s body after an intensive 24-hour search, according to Putnam County Sheriff Gator DeLoach. A sheet of plywood covering the tank’s opening was rotted and obscured by weeds and dirt, DeLoach explained, and cops believe Lara stepped on the degraded wood and fell in. “It’s not an uncommon practice in a situation like this when there’s a child missing to search the septic tank as well,” DeLoach said. “Actually one of our leadership team members…made the call to drain the septic tank. At that point it was unfortunately when we discovered the child’s body.” DeLoach said there is no evidence of foul play, but that the discovery “was certainly the worst possible case scenario, in terms of outcome.”