Found Deceased KS - Lucas Hernandez, 5, Wichita, 17 Feb 2018 #1

[DAnthrplgst]

Me too. I can’t get past the idea of how much pain Lucas must have endured while his teeth decayed to that level. As we all know, that doesn’t happen overnight - it takes a long period of time to get to that state. Not to mention the darkened appearance of rotting teeth, especially his front teeth, would be apparent and have to be blatantly ignored to become that bad. Heavy, heavy sigh.

He didn't experience any pain from his teeth decaying. Primary teeth (baby teeth) are not seated in the maxilla or mandible (aka the "jaws) and are not connected to nerves in the same way adult teeth are. Tooth decay in childhood is VERY common. It's not due to neglect or "abuse" it's just something that happens with some children, particularly because it's notoriously difficult to teach a child Lucas' age proper brushing techniques. Something else to keep in mind, dental insurance is not a given, most people don't have it or if they do it doesn't cover a lot and parents have to pay a lot out of pocket, especially with pediatric dentistry is involved.

 

[Steelslady]

100% his cleft palate would have had SOMETHING to do with his teeth rotting. Children born with cleft palate have a higher chance of early tooth decay. They need more dental care than the average child (obviously) and I think FindLucasAllen was eluding to Lucas maybe not receiving this extra care. So a mix of medical and neglect.

Well, he does have silver teeth inserted, which tells me somebody has been bringing him to the dentist regularly. Those take time to replace, Think of how many visits you need for just a dental crown- one crown. They have to grind the tooth down, put on a temporary cap, a couple of weeks later take that cap off then put on a permanent one. So, to me, one of the parents was bringing him to the dentist to have those silver teeth put in. By the way, those silver teeth are put on the baby teeth until they fall out and a second tooth comes in. Those silver teeth aren't permanent.

 

[Shelby1]

http://www.kwch.com/content/news/Wichita-police-investigating-missing-child-case--474396903.html

No new info.

 

[NewMama]

I am curious as to his educators and their suspicions of possible neglect and/or abuse. There was talk of possibly enrolling my youngest in public pre-k due to an orthopedic impairment and his case manager for early intervention made it sound like a very lengthy process. He’s made much progress so it doesn’t look like he’d be eligible but it was brought up early because it takes a bit longer to get set up as opposed to registering a kiddo for K-12 typical public curriculum. (My lingo is probably off here.) So I have a feeling that little Lucas’ family weren’t the only folks worried about him.

 

[DakotaMayi]

He didn't experience any pain from his teeth decaying. Primary teeth (baby teeth) are not seated in the maxilla or mandible (aka the "jaws) and are not connected to nerves in the same way adult teeth are. Tooth decay in childhood is VERY common. It's not due to neglect or "abuse" it's just something that happens with some children, particularly because it's notoriously difficult to teach a child Lucas' age proper brushing techniques. Something else to keep in mind, dental insurance is not a given, most people don't have it or if they do it doesn't cover a lot and parents have to pay a lot out of pocket, especially with pediatric dentistry is involved.

I cannot put anymore thought it this, something that may be so irrelevant, after this post, but tooth decay in children absolutely can be painful and can cause all kinds of infections. Just as it can be in adults.

 

[Inthedetails]

Was Lucas in a pre-K program or kindergarten?

I've been assuming since he was home for a 3pm nap, according to the stepmom, he wasn't in school. But perhaps he was?

Anyone have that info?

 

[keeleydoll]

Whenever I see a child with those silver fillings and missing teeth, I just assume it's what used to be called "bottle mouth" (baby bottle tooth decay). Generally caused by the parent or caretaker giving the baby a sugary liquid filled bottle way too often (as a pacifier, at bed time, nap time, etc.)

I know this isn’t helping find Lucas but some children don’t have sufficient enamel, my youngest has a couple of cavities that may require the teeth to be pulled and we brush religiously as we have with the older 4 and none of them had this problem. It may have been an enamel problem compounded by the cleft palate. Also, at the age of three the dentist will not do much of anything except wait for them to be bad enough to pull. There is a silver/fluoride treatment I’ve been researching but it is an off label treatment and we’d have to travel several hours to get to a dentist who will do it.

Sending love for Lucas and his family.


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ETA my 3 year old never had a bottle even once in his life. It is not always “bottle rot”

 

[raeann]

This article states that the search has expanded to another park just to the north of the Great Plains Nature Center area.

http://www.kansas.com/news/local/crime/article200889139.html


Edited to add:
From the description that the article provides.....this is likely the large fishing lake area which is actually still a part of the same Chisholm Creek park area but is located to the north side of the K96 highway.

 

[Inthedetails]

This article states that the search has expanded to another park just to the north of the Great Plains Nature Center area.

http://www.kansas.com/news/local/crime/article200889139.html

So there is something about the park area that is pulling LE there, but not to a specific location.

Maybe the stepmom mentioned to someone she visited the park in the last day or so???

If it were a cellphone ping, how accurate would it be - how close could it pinpoint location?

jmo

 

[keeleydoll]

Thanks for the quick response. Forgive my lack of knowledge about CPS involvement. So, are the adults living in the home informed of the exact incident/allegation which was the basis for the report?
EXAMPLE: "I'm here because we received a report that Lucas was strong-armed by his stepmother last week which left visible marks"
Or
EXAMPLE "I'm here because there are concerns about the safety of Lucas." (But nothing specifically noted?)

*ETA stressing the point again that these are examples only*

It will be a specific, someone called and said XYZ, is this true? What is happening and why did we get this call? Ask to see the home, specifically sleeping areas, kitchen. As he is enrolled at a public school, CPS would speak to him privately there, likely before going to the home.


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[Midge Montana]

I want to know when this child was last seen by someone other than his step-mom. Not sure if the same terrible flu is going around there as it is here, but I wonder if he was sick?
I wish we knew more of what SM's story is regarding the last week or so.

 

[DakotaMayi]

Was Lucas in a pre-K program or kindergarten?

I've been assuming since he was home for a 3pm nap, according to the stepmom, he wasn't in school. But perhaps he was?

Anyone have that info?

I think FLA said pre-k.

 

[DAnthrplgst]

Deleted post because I'm a bone head.

 

[24Roses]

Was Lucas in a pre-K program or kindergarten?

I've been assuming since he was home for a 3pm nap, according to the stepmom, he wasn't in school. But perhaps he was?

Anyone have that info?

He was reported missing on Saturday, so not a school day. However, it has been reported by FindLucasAllen and a teacher in an article, that he did go to Pre-K. The school was also named.

 

[Shelby1]

I want to know when this child was last seen by someone other than his step-mom. Not sure if the same terrible flu is going around there as it is here, but I wonder if he was sick?
I wish we knew more of what SM's story is regarding the last week or so.

Major flu going around. I read or heard the other day that Kansas is one of the sickest states with the flu. I had it about 4 weeks ago--i'm still feeling the effects.

 

[Inthedetails]

FindLucasAllen said further up-thread that Lucas was enrolled in a pre-k program. If the program is anything like the ones we have in my area it was probably a half-day program which explains why he was home at 3p. In fact, if the program was a half-day program, that may explain why Lucas went down for the nap (provided he actually did). Maybe he was up late Sunday night or was just tired in the morning, went to school, came home, got tired again and step-mom let him lay down for a little bit. I wish LE would verify a time-line of when he was last seen by someone other then step-mom.

So the next question is....was he indeed at pre-k that morning??

jmo

 

[Soulmagent]

I know this isn’t helping find Lucas but some children don’t have sufficient enamel, my youngest has a couple of cavities that may require the teeth to be pulled and we brush religiously as we have with the older 4 and none of them had this problem. It may have been an enamel problem compounded by the cleft palate. Also, at the age of three the dentist will not do much of anything except wait for them to be bad enough to pull. There is a silver/fluoride treatment I’ve been researching but it is an off label treatment and we’d have to travel several hours to get to a dentist who will do it.

Sending love for Lucas and his family.


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My youngest as well. The older 3 had no cavities until teen years, my now 12 year old has had issues since he was 3. Oddly enough at 11 he was diagnosed with crohns. . I am not sure it is related to his teeth issues but he gets a 6 months cleaning every 3 months now even so every visit is nail bitting.

 

[DakotaMayi]

So the next question is....was he indeed at pre-k that morning??

jmo

No, Lucas disappeared on a Saturday.

 

[brooker0610]

I want to know when this child was last seen by someone other than his step-mom. Not sure if the same terrible flu is going around there as it is here, but I wonder if he was sick?
I wish we knew more of what SM's story is regarding the last week or so.

The flu is definitely awful here, I'm a RN and Kansas is one of the "sickest" in the nation with Influenza A & B right now. Some smaller schools in KS have closed due to number of kids ill.

 

[Steelslady]

He was reported missing on Saturday, so not a school day. However, it has been reported by FindLucasAllen and a teacher in an article, that he did go to Pre-K. The school was also named.

That part is confirmed, but I wonder if he went on Friday? The teacher I believe posted that on her FB account, and in one article, the reporter quoted her FB post.