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

[Tr.]

I work w/ 3&4 yr.olds and I find it hard to believe these little kids just jump up and decide to leave their homes in the darkness of night and bitter coldness of winter. The kids I work with 1. are scared of the dark and 2 . hate the cold weather (during outdoor playtime).

It doesn't add up.

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Many probably feel the same as you and that is why I'm afraid that this age group will continue to be under-estimated on their strength, resolve, and lack of understanding as to what is and is not dangerous.
We simply cannot group all kids by age and assume they behave just the same. Some are very, very different.
Thinking outside the box may bring the next one back home alive...i hope.
Thanks for your opinion.

 

[J4cknsal1y]

Replying to a post by hoosgirl.
I am in WI, & yes they can. It has been a long time since I've been without a garage so I haven't had to deal with it in forever, but I have had it happen after taking my car through the car wash when it was too cold out. I used to work at a bank, & in the winter can remember customers coming through the drive thru on especially cold days & their windows were frozen and wouldn't go down. So I think it is possible, but still kind of unlikely for the door to be frozen shut (being parked outside I assume, does make it more likely, especially if it was recently taken through the car wash). JMO
*adding: freezing rain could also cause the doors to freeze over. That has only happened to me once ever, though, it was a terrible storm & my entire car was covered in 2" of ice. We had to wait a couple days to even get it to open. I had the flu at the time, so luckily (not really though ) I wasn't going anywhere anyways.

 

[Rayemonde]

It's still possible there was foul play. I just keep thinking of Rainn Peterson and Lyndon Albers... They both disappeared from home and were found dumped relatively closeby. They could have frozen to death if the weather had been colder.

 

[Zuri]

Logically, I'd think a toddler would be more likely to lose heat quickly, too, but don't they still have some brown fat around then? Or not? iow, he may not have really felt the cold as we might -- but that's pure speculation on my part.

Toddlers of that age would become hypothermic very very quickly. He did not look as though he would have had enough fat store to keep him warm and shivering to generate body heat would have depleted glucose/fat/protein storage rapidly. IMO

 

[CanadianWells]

Well, so far the autopsy backs up what my gut was telling me. I hope nothing changes. I hadn't thought, either, of that scenario of him chasing mom down. That sounds like something I'd have done as a kid his age, and is something I've seen a few of my 15 nieces and nephews do, though not in this precise kind of situation. I hope the poor babe just laid down for a nap and never suffered much. Hypothermia is a peaceful way to go, or so I was told in WEMT training.

 

[Zuri]

http://www.kfvs12.com/story/3118659...f-hypothermia?clienttype=generic&sf20766345=1

Died of hypothermia

"IRON COUNTY, MO (KFVS/AP) -

The Iron County coroner said he believes three-year-old Titus Tackett died of hypothermia.

Coroner Tony Cole said the autopsy showed there was no internal bleeding or bruises on Titus Greyson Tackett's body. He said he's still waiting on toxicology results.

He said three-year-old Titus*was found dead in a van on Wednesday about a*.5 mile from his*house, on Highway 72."

How tragic. So he ran a half a mile not over a mile. That seems more plausible and I feel so badly for this family.

 

[luvhockey]

The red/pink X is the structure we had aerial shots of, I believe it was used as the command center during the search. MSM reported that the command center was very close to the grandfather's house so we are just using it as an approximation to get an idea of the distance from there to the house where he was found.

Late getting here today and haven't read the last 3 pages. If you zoom in on the maps you will see a reddish house just up from the command center. I'm pretty sure that is the Grandfather's house.

 

[DatelineFan]

It's still possible there was foul play. I just keep thinking of Rainn Peterson and Lyndon Albers... They both disappeared from home and were found dumped relatively closeby. They could have frozen to death if the weather had been colder.

What happened to them?

 

[cobalt sky]

So either a toddler walked down a highway in the middle of the night and wasn't seen or walked thru the woods past many other houses. Umm. Ok.

One of the first people to call and talk to the local news was a girl named Tiffany if I recall. She said her brother was there. Is that the new/ex boyfriend? I'm going to look for that clip.

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Pinki did you find this clip? I REALLY want to see it!

 

[KrazyKatLadi]

Pinki did you find this clip? I REALLY want to see it!

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=94MSe41Mvi0

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[Karo]

But there is no evidence to support that Rainn was dumped?

It's still possible there was foul play. I just keep thinking of Rainn Peterson and Lyndon Albers... They both disappeared from home and were found dumped relatively closeby. They could have frozen to death if the weather had been colder.

 

[AbbeyBabbey]

That is what I was thinking. He may have come running out of the house, trying to follow the taillights on the car.

Maybe, but the nearest town for "shopping" or "running an errand" is 10.3 miles to the west (in the opposite direction from where Titus was found.)

 

[Kairi'sMom]

What a tragedy.
I thought about the possibility that he ran after his parents but that is just so, so sad to think about. It used to break my heart when my kids did that.
If he became hypothermic he wouldn't have felt the cold, maybe that's why he was able to get into that van.

Somehow it's more comforting for me to think he may have been sleepwalking. He wouldn't have been aware of anything he went through that night.
:rose:

 

[Jamaica Me Crazy]

coroner report came back as the child froze to death and no signs of child abuse.

Will an investigation continue though to try and figure out how he got in the van?

 

[CanadianWells]

But there is no evidence to support that Rainn was dumped?

I think they've recently announced they're analyzing evidence they found-- namely a half eaten apple and a cigarette near her? Forgive me if I'm wrong. I haven't been on that thread in a few days.

 

[epiphany]

“He was smart and intelligent for a 3-year-old,” according to Cole [Iron County Coroner], who knows the family. “He knew how to open a car door. It’s not his first time, he’s done that a lot.”

Cole [IC Coroner] says Titus could start and ride a 4-wheeled ATV, so it’s not unthinkable that he could have wandered off on his own and climbed into the neighbor’s van seeking shelter.

http://stlouis.cbslocal.com/2016/02/11/autopsy-finds-3-year-old-tyson-tackett-died-of-hypothermia/

 

[Hoosgirl]

“He was smart and intelligent for a 3-year-old,” according to Cole [Iron County Coroner], who knows the family. “He knew how to open a car door. It’s not his first time, he’s done that a lot.”

Cole [IC Coroner] says Titus could start and ride a 4-wheeled ATV, so it’s not unthinkable that he could have wandered off on his own and climbed into the neighbor’s van seeking shelter.

http://stlouis.cbslocal.com/2016/02/11/autopsy-finds-3-year-old-tyson-tackett-died-of-hypothermia/

The coroner knows the family? Wouldn't that be a conflict of interest?

 

[epiphany]

There is currently no explanation of how Tackett wound up in the van but Cole, who knows the family well, says many of them are mechanics and Tackett was already smart enough to start a 4-wheeler on his own and unlock and open doors.

http://www.kmov.com/story/31201735/...n-county-toddler-may-have-died-of-hypothermia

 

[Zuri]

I am not exactly sure how police infrared thermal imaging helicopters work. If they flew over the area and did not pick up an image within the van, could that help in narrowing down TOD?

 

[Kakidoll]

The coroner knows the family? Wouldn't that be a conflict of interest?

My thoughts exactly.... sounds like it's more than just a passing familiarity too.