Found Deceased MO - Titus Tackett, 3, Killarney Shores, 10 Feb 2016

[AmyPond]

The video I saw was before the ambulance showed up. There are a LOT of people standing and wandering around. Quite a few looked in the van and walked away. I, personally, felt like there were way too many people. I am not at all knowledgeable about this stuff though so maybe that's normal? I wonder if I can find that video.

 

[white rabbit]

your post gives me more confidence than I've previously felt, hatfield...so thank you!

the bottoms of his feet must be absolutely mauled. even a flat, evenly paved roadway would wreak havoc on 3yr old skin for that distance. and if he went the wooded route, ugh. I can't imagine.

then again I still can't imagine that he actually did walk to that minivan.

 

[said_it_and_meant_it]

IF he opened the door of the van, crawled inside and closed the door his prints should be on the INSIDE door handle. Even if the owner and LE touched the handle on the outside of the door they would have no reason to close the door of the van from the inside. If his prints got covered from others touching the outside handle they should have no problem pulling the prints from the inside handle since Titus should have been the last one to come in contact with the inside door handle. JMO

 

[AmyPond]

I think the video I saw was taken down. It was taken from a helicoptor. People were standing around. Looking in the van. Then an ambulance pulled up. An EMT walked over to the van with two bags. But I didn't see what happened after that.

There are a couple of still frames from it here (scroll down a bit)...

http://fox2now.com/2016/02/10/missing-iron-county-toddlers-body-found-in-a-van/

 

[Betty P]

The Iron County Sheriff says the investigation is ongoing:

"The autopsy is only part of it," Medley said. "We need to find a reason why, and we haven't even finished all of our interviews. Is this logical? Is it possible? We have to determine whether it was an accident or something different."

Medley said no one was considered a suspect. He said the FBI and Missouri Highway Patrol continue working with his office.

http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/missing--year-old-boy-found-near-ironton-mo-froze/article_96fffe57-63b3-571e-856b-3b96c1909fa3.html

It sounds like they want to fully investigate the case to be fair and thorough, but I don't get the feeling they think there was any foul play.

ETA: There's more information at the linked article, including interviews with family members who verified Titus was an active little guy who was known to run off and get into vehicles.

Rulo said he doesn't know how Titus ended up in the van, but Rulo said Titus was a smart and curious boy who was known to climb into vehicles on his own, despite his young age. Rulo said that once, while the family was at a barbecue and the adults were playing horseshoes, Titus wandered off.

"We found him sitting in the passenger seat of my '92 Chevy S-10 truck," Rulo said. "He had opened the door handle on his own, and that was a hard door to open."

 

[Hatfield]

your post gives me more confidence than I've previously felt, hatfield...so thank you!

the bottoms of his feet must be absolutely mauled. even a flat, evenly paved roadway would wreak havoc on 3yr old skin for that distance. and if he went the wooded route, ugh. I can't imagine.

then again I still can't imagine that he actually did walk to that minivan.

Yeah, I continue to struggle believing he walked all that way in the Teens Temperatures if he was barefoot. I cant hardly walk outside in the yard barefoot without coming right back inside to get some shoes. I know some people who go barefoot a lot build up calluses and are able to do it but I struggle to believe a young child like that could handle the ice cold pavement let alone the debri in the woods if he went that route.

Im really stuck believing he could have pulled off the walk/run in ice cold temps. Those kind of temperatures usually would begin to hurt your feet.

 

[KYPastTracker]

IMO, I just don't see how this was possible. I talked it over with my sister who is the primary caregiver for her 3 year old granddaughter and raised four boys of her own. She immediately said "No way that happened", rolling her eyes. We went out to her Rogue which is not even a van to take my great-niece to preschool. I asked her to open the door. She tried, but she couldn't do it. She just barely got her hands up to the door handle. I then opened the door and asked her to shut it. She tried over and over and just couldn't do it. She pushed and pushed. She is taller than average and not a weakling by any means. I know all children are different, but in my opinion, this just isn't feasible. And then you have to add the freezing factor on top of that which IMO would impair the use of his hands and limbs if he had managed
to walk almost a mile in frigid temps which to me, again, is highly unlikely. JMO, IMO. etc.

 

[Aurie]

Is there a way to calculate the minimum time it would've taken for a 3-year-old to walk that distance? IMO, it would've taken a while even on a nice day, but it was well below freezing, so poor Titus must've been out for quite a while. Is it possible for a small child to survive that long in those conditions?

 

[AbbeyBabbey]

q

I am not sure of how fingerprints 'work' if someone else comes along and opens the van door later. The neighbor came out and found the boy so he also touched the door handle at least once. Would his prints 'cover' or erase those of Titus then?

Has it been said that the neighbor opened the van door? My idea right away was that the door was open when the neighbor approached the van and that's how s/he discovered Titus. Observing the angles of the "viewers" peering into the van, it looked to me like Titus was on the floor board behind the driver's seat. Is it common for people to open doors on a vehicle and check the floor boards before entering and starting a vehicle? I know that I don't do that.

 

[birdsmomma]

Has it been said that the neighbor opened the van door? My idea right away was that the door was open when the neighbor approached the van and that's how s/he discovered Titus. Observing the angles of the "viewers" peering into the van, it looked to me like Titus was on the floor board behind the driver's seat. Is it common for people to open doors on a vehicle and check the floor boards before entering and starting a vehicle? I know that I don't do that.

I personally do look in my back seat and in the floorboards before opening the doors of my car. I drive an SUV, I guess all those urban legends I heard as a kid really got to me. I'm fearful that someone would be in my back seat. Now I'm not saying this is common but I do know that I do this.

 

[pepelepolecat]

Has it been said that the neighbor opened the van door? My idea right away was that the door was open when the neighbor approached the van and that's how s/he discovered Titus. Observing the angles of the "viewers" peering into the van, it looked to me like Titus was on the floor board behind the driver's seat. Is it common for people to open doors on a vehicle and check the floor boards before entering and starting a vehicle? I know that I don't do that.

I do for the same reason Birdsmama does it. Paranoia. :scared: There is a LOT of room in a van for a creepy person to hide if they're bent on mischief.

But I think it's possible the door was open anyway -- either because he left it open or because he couldn't close it. Or maybe a more sinister reason.

 

[J4cknsal1y]

UPDATED at 9 a.m.: Iron County Sheriff Roger Medley released the following statement concerning the autopsy of Titus Tackett and the ongoing investigation into his death:

"It is true the preliminary possible cause of death is hypothermia, but this is the part of the information we needed to determine where to start the main investigation to determine how and why.

"Misinformation coming out is that the family has been cleared and no charges will be filed. This is not true. We’ve only had our first sit down with all the agencies Thursday afternoon to decide how to proceed with the investigation."

bbm


http://dailyjournalonline.com/arcad...l&utm_source=facebook&utm_campaign=user-share

All My Opinion Only:
I am not surprised to see this; I had a bad feeling about this poor little boy from the start. Just my own speculation, but maybe the mother & her 'ex-boyfriend' went out leaving him with 'grandpa' & they found his little frozen body when they got home or on their way back, and panicked because they did not want to be blamed for the little boy's death as being negligent for leaving a know 'escape artist' in the care of someone else in the middle of the night. Not sure why they would put him in the first unlocked vehicle they found instead of calling 911, but the blanket does seem to make it seem more personal if someone else covered him with it. Sweet little Bella was found wrapped in a blanket, but it is hard to see that as a person 'loving' touch considering her poor excuse of a mother & the loser who killed her child. I can't even get started on that case because it makes me physically ill. Poor babies.

What has me thinking the way I am is this: I am from WI, and I vaguely remember a news article about a
child who went out to play in a snowstorm in the middle of the night & I believe the older sister locked the younger sibling outside. Parents found the child frozen to death outside the next morning.
Here is an article: http://www.fox9.com/news/1547101-story

 

[AmyPond]

I believe it's been stated that the blanket was placed over him by someone who found him.

ETA - http://www.al.com/news/index.ssf/2016/02/missing_missouri_boy_3_found_i.html

I am wondering if Titus went into the van and didn't close the door. And that is why the homeowner ended up finding him.

 

[Hoosgirl]

your post gives me more confidence than I've previously felt, hatfield...so thank you!

the bottoms of his feet must be absolutely mauled. even a flat, evenly paved roadway would wreak havoc on 3yr old skin for that distance. and if he went the wooded route, ugh. I can't imagine.

then again I still can't imagine that he actually did walk to that minivan.

Apparently not, white rabbit. The coroner also had this to say:

Other folks didn’t understand how Titus could walk so far in the frigid weather.

Cole said the boy was no stranger to walking barefoot.

“Kids are tough at the age, tougher than what we think they are,” he said. “I don’t think they know they are in trouble or not.”

 

[potatoes13]

I have a theory, but it probably isn't allowed. Maybe he wasn't left at home with grandpa.

 

[Irisha]

Apparently not, white rabbit. The coroner also had this to say:

Other folks didn’t understand how Titus could walk so far in the frigid weather.

Cole said the boy was no stranger to walking barefoot.

“Kids are tough at the age, tougher than what we think they are,” he said. “I don’t think they know they are in trouble or not.”

Thank you, IMO Cole needs to :silenced: . Last nerve thingy.........:facepalm: kid expert too?:moo:

 

[lonetraveler]

I would imagine he (Titus) was running most of that way. Most likely in a panic thinking he was being left behind when he heard the car doors shut and his mom drove away....he probably followed.

You see this is what makes me wonder about the grandfather. I'm wondering if the grandfather even knew he was babysitting Titus. Most grandfathers are asleep at midnight. If he was even aware that he was babysitting Titus then he would have been awake and would have known if the baby ran out of a front door leaving it open for the cold to come in. If....and that is a big IF the baby did run out of the front door without closing it, then he had to have left just as you stated, ie., as soon as he realized that mom had driven off without him.

 

[lonetraveler]

I became aware of this missing toddler just before he was found so I don't know the answer to this question: Were scent dogs brought in to search? Did they track him to the van? Can LE use scent dogs now just to verify that this baby walked to the van?

 

[white rabbit]

hoosgirl, re-read my post 487...I simply do not believe the coroner at this point. IMO his COD is a compromised conclusion.

potatoes, I probably agree with your unpostable theory.

 

[lonetraveler]

I would imagine he (Titus) was running most of that way. Most likely in a panic thinking he was being left behind when he heard the car doors shut and his mom drove away....he probably followed.

You see this is what makes me wonder about the grandfather. I'm wondering if the grandfather even knew he was babysitting Titus. Most grandfathers are asleep at midnight. If he was even aware that he was babysitting Titus then he would have been awake and would have known if the baby ran out of a front door leaving it open for the cold to come in. If....and that is a big IF the baby did run out of the front door without closing it, then he had to have left just as you stated, ie., as soon as he realized that mom had driven off without him.