GUILTY VA - Noah Thomas, 5, Pulaski County, 22 March 2015 #2

[Ms Suzanne]

This makes me very sad.I was praying he would be ok or if they found him dead they would find him quickly.I'm so sorry Noah.

 

[wendybtn]

Good point. No where has it been stated this was a current in-use septic system.

Law enforcement had it pumped out today before removing his body.

 

[JeannaT]

This makes me very sad.I was praying he would be ok or if they found him dead they would find him quickly.I'm so sorry Noah.

They did kind of find him quickly. I know it wasn't right away, but within a few days time, they found his remains.

I thought this might be a case where no one ever knew what happened to him, and the parents would go to their graves in old age never knowing if Noah was out there somewhere. Now they know. He fell into a septic tank, and likely died within about 3 minutes. Rest in peace, Noah. And prayers for healing for the family, and now they can know where he is. In Heaven.

 

[SStarr33]

Sounds like Noah's uncle doesn't think he fell in.
http://www.roanoke.com/news/local/p...6-441c-5918-b9e1-6043ec810c94.html?mode=story

I wonder if there was something to that story at the beginning that he was seen with another child?

 

[Amster]

So, LE searching the home 3 times didn't notice an old, dilapidated septic lid or hole or what?

 

[Emaa]

How old is the baby? A newborn? Toddler?

I thought I saw it mentioned somewhere but I can't find the link now of course; less than a year old. His facebook missing page has a photo of him and his baby sister.

 

[Ontario Mom]

Law enforcement had it pumped out today before removing his body.

Would an un-used, abandoned septic need to be pumped? Highly doubtful.

Slighty O/T but not really, I really just need to say THANK YOU once again to WS running a tight ship here about rumors. As I was trying to get caught up here this evening I saw the references to them on SM but I chose not to click and read the nasties. I'm so glad they're not allowed here.

 

[Dogface]

I agree that a parent shouldn't sleep for hours while a 5 year old is left unsupervised - but in this case, if she were fully alert and awake and he went outside to play and she checked on him in 5 minutes, this still could have been the outcome. I'm a firm believer that children his age should be allowed to play in their own yards, with a parent checking, and this may have happened within 3 minutes of him stepping outside to play.

Yes but you wouldn't have this possible long window of time passing before you realized something was amiss.

 

[Ms Suzanne]

I don't believe he fell into the septic tank.I could be wrong though.I hope they say what the autopsy states what happened to him.

 

[JeannaT]

So, LE searching the home 3 times didn't notice an old, dilapidated septic lid or hole or what?

No, they didn't, Amster. But I doubt anyone is more heartbroken than 1. the family 2. LE who were searching and searching round the clock to find a healthy little carrot top they could return home safely. So no, it sounds like they didn't see this thing that they now found today. It seems unlikely that he survived his first 5 minutes in the tank, so even if they found it the minute they arrived on the property the outcome wouldn't have been different. I hope all the searchers realize that.

 

[Emaa]

JMO. If my hubby says accidents are rare, I believe him over you. And there is so much bs on so many websites. Maybe the articles are real. You would be surprised what people will do to attract hits, sales, etc. on the web. Didn't mean to argue. Sorry if I offended you.

No not offended at all, didn't mean to imply that. Just curious. And I didn't mean to imply they were common occurrences, no doubt it is rare in the wider scheme of things. I guess my point is it isn't outside the realm of possibility, and the articles do show it's happened before and why. I talked about this with a friend today and we both remember cases of kids falling in these things. Maybe the stories just stuck with me because so many of my relatives lived in rural areas and had them.

 

[matou]

Not sure why the dogs went to the road though. Very unfortunate.

 

[JeannaT]

Yes but you wouldn't have this possible long window of time passing before you realized something was amiss.

I totally agree, but I don't know it would have mattered in this case. It's been 4 days since she realized something was amiss and now they've found him. I think if she went to check on him after 5 minutes of playing outside, the outcome would be the same. Gone, so fast. This is just awful.

 

[YidArmyRach]

I think this could have happened while she was peeing, doing a load of laundry, changing the baby's diaper; if this was an accident and he fell into the septic.

The difference is, thought, she'd have noticed he was missing within minutes ...... rather than hours.

 

[JeannaT]

Not sure why the dogs went to the road though. Very unfortunate.

Dogs do that. They try their best, that child's path should have been all over their property. And THEN, searchers walked all over the property carrying his foot scent trail all over the place. Dogs can track fairly well in the wilderness, but not in cases like this. I feel like I'm one of the few posters who always says dogs are great but you can't trust their communications in cases like this. It's way too contaminated.

 

[SeriouslySearching]

How old is the baby? A newborn? Toddler?

I asked earlier and no one responded. There is a photo of Noah with the baby and he looks a bit younger than now. I would guess the baby is months old not toddler age.

 

[DeeMarie]

The difference is, thought, she'd have noticed he was missing within minutes ...... rather than hours.

Was there any mentioned on the time line was between the mom waking up from her nap- discovering Noah was missing- then calling 911..

 

[JeannaT]

Thanks for the news link!

Also I read:'...His mother then went to take a nap with their infant child and awoke around 10:35 to see that Noah was missing..'

So the mom was napping with Noah. She didn't lay down while Noah went to go play in the yard...

Where did you read that she was napping with Noah? She was napping, and he was up watching cartoons.

 

[JeannaT]

Was there any mentioned on the time line was between the mom waking up from her nap- discovering Noah was missing- then calling 911..

The timeline I read was that she woke up around 10:35 and she called LE at 11, after searching for awhile herself and LE was onsight nearly immediately.

 

[Starry Night]

Can we have a modicum of respect here tonight for the family and for the dedicated searchers (LE) for this boy?