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

[epiphany]

Some reasons why a 3 year old isn't sound asleep at midnight:

- he's a light sleeper

- he still doesn't go down easily

- he's not sleeping in his own home, in his own bed

- he had an unusually long nap that particular day

- he's on a go-to-sleep-late, wake up late in the morning routine


Some reasons why GdF didn't hear anything:

- he wasn't screaming, crying or yelling

- GdF is a heavy sleeper

 

[pepelepolecat]

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

It's a moot point since obviously the little guy died of hypothermia, but brown fat isn't just "fat." It's a special type of fat that newborns are chock full of that keeps them warm. This fat is gradually lost as the baby ages. Most adults have precious little brown fat (although slender people have more than overweight people).

 

[pepelepolecat]

Some reasons why a 3 year old isn't sound asleep at midnight:

- he's a light sleeper

- he still doesn't go down easily

- he's not sleeping in his own home, in his own bed

- he had an unusually long nap that particular day

- he's on a go-to-sleep-late, wake up late in the morning routine


Some reasons why GF didn't hear anything:

- he wasn't screaming, crying or yelling

- GF is a heavy sleeper

A child who is overtired might also not go down easily.

 

[The Apparition]

Well if Mom left the house at midnight, if there's any speculation that maybe this little 3 yr old saw Mommy leave and ran after her tail lights then I have 2 questions:

1. Why isn't a 3 yr old sound asleep at midnight?
2. If he was the type to run out the door into the cold to follow Mommy, surely this wouldn't have been the first time - so then why weren't there proper safeguards in place to prevent this from happening? And if he was running after Mommy, surely he'd have been crying in the house.....screaming, calling for Mommy while opening the door. Grandfather didn't hear this?
Honest to God, people treat their pets with more care and attention than their own children and it just makes me sick.

Yes! Assuming this isn't foul play, the story we've been given drives me nuts. If you have a little Houdini on your hands how about taking some extra precautions? The "official story" is the mom was only gone 1-1.5 hours, couldn't someone have made sure the kid didn't freaking walk out the front door into the pitch black freezing night? If granddad can't hear or stay awake, perhaps don't leave your child under his care. I know it's hard being a parent but they are only crazy dangerous for about 6 years so plan accordingly or terrible things can happen.

 

[Jackeee]

Just a general question. I'm not calling anyone out on it. Why are people always skeptical that LE isn't doing their job when it comes to things like this? Why would a small town force not know proper procedure and where to get help if they needed it? Is this lack of faith due to personal experience?

Jamaica, I think that in the world of Internet and tv, people are impatient for answers. On tv we are used to seeing the crime, investigation, arrest and court case all done and dusted in an hour. We don't want to wait weeks for test results in the real world. We want them now, just like on tv. I admit to often wondering why it takes so long to get answers.
As far as being skeptical about small town LE being effective, I often thought they were just a bunch of Barney Fyfes, stumbling around. I believe I drew my opinion from watching cop shows where the local LE were portrayed as being unaware. However, I think that they have the advantage of knowing everyone. If they don't happen to know them, they probably know someone who does. Also, the people know all about their police too. I think it's difficult to be anonymous in a small town. In the Deorr Kunz case, I have a great deal of admiration for Sheriff Bowerman and his department. The small town approach to a situation may seem different to that of a big city. I believe that small town LE might have to tread a little more carefully in complex investigations. JMO

 

[epiphany]

Just a general question. I'm not calling anyone out on it. Why are people always skeptical that LE isn't doing their job when it comes to things like this? Why would a small town force not know proper procedure and where to get help if they needed it? Is this lack of faith due to personal experience?

Respectfully BBM

For some, yes, Def due to personal experience

For others, a few of my guesses:

- many of us are news junkies and bad news is abundant

- members of a crime board

- the current climate in the country re LE, both small town & city

- individual temperaments, dispositions: glass-half-empty vs glass-half-full; cynicism vs optimisim

 

[cobalt sky]

Snipped from this link, bbm: http://fox2now.com/2016/02/11/questions-remain-after-3-year-old-found-dead-in-van-in-iron-county/


"...Meanwhile, members of the Child Fatality Review Panel met again Thursday afternoon. It’s required by law when a child dies. The panel is comprised of members of the sheriff’s department, health department, DFS, juvenile workers, the FBI, Missouri Highway Patrol, and other agencies. Highway Patrol and agencies who have been working the case get together. They share information they’ve learned in the past day to find out what led to Titus’ death.

“This is far from over. Right now we have a preliminary cause of death, but everybody is being interviewed,” said Russ Allen, chairman of the panel. “There’s a possibility charges could come later; that would lie with our prosecutor.” ..."

 

[NSS]

If the child left as soon as parents left, the door was open for a long time and the house didn't get cold enough to wake grandpa.

If he left closer to the time they returned, they would have found him along the road.

A quick note on the freezing temps (not sure about without shoes). My DD is very petite and feels the cold acutely indoors (she has some mobility difficulty) - however, when we are outdoors in the Winter she often removes her coat because she is hot. This is because of the effort/energy she expends to walk.

I note this because, this little fella may have been warmer than we expect whilst he was running or moving quickly to find his parents. He may have started to feel colder by the time he couldn't run any more and entered the van. He likely fell asleep and the cold took him as he slept.

 

[JeannaT]

This story is so sad, but I've reconciled myself to the conclusion that it is what is being reported. This child for some reason got up, with only underwear on, and walked .6 miles in 15 degree weather and then climbed into the back of a van and curled up under a blanket and froze to death.

Not all kids make it. Some kids are wanderers, and this is what happens to them, sadly. As jolting as it was to see what his mother posted on her facebook page, that now appears to be a very bizarre coincidence.

RIP, Titus. You are gone too soon.

 

[Hatfield]

The article says they want into Ironton. I am guessing one of the questions LE would ask them is what store they went to and then check with the store hours and check with the clerks in the store to see if they saw them around the time they supposedly had left to go to Ironton.

The article says they got back between 12-1 AM so there is probably very few places that could be open late in such a small town as Ironton based on the map. They may have been in that town between 11-12 possibly.

I see a Country Mart and a Steves Gas + Liquor store so maybe a place like that may have been opened kind of late.

Just glad to hear LE is reviewing the case carefully. It sounds like they will do a thorough job.

http://fox2now.com/2016/02/11/questions-remain-after-3-year-old-found-dead-in-van-in-iron-county/

 

[Kakidoll]

Respectfully BBM

For some, yes, Def due to personal experience

For others, a few of my guesses:

- many of us are news junkies and bad news is abundant

- members of a crime board

- the current climate in the country re LE, both small town & city

- individual temperaments, dispositions: glass-half-empty vs glass-half-full; cynicism vs optimisim

And may i add, in small towns, people tend to 'protect their own'. JMO

 

[Portabella]

I agree in a small town people are close knit, and protect their own. But....A Sheriff or Coroner is not going to risk their job, their integrity, their morals to hide someone who harms a child. I know this seems like a far fetched case, but obviously it happened. I am sure they will fully investigate it, as they do with every suspicious death, but.... now all I can feel is sorrow for the loss of a young life, and the family left behind to grieve. RIP...IMHO

 

[Dylgem22]

Personally, I know that we all would like justice for the victim/families if there was foul play involved ... But I am actually happy to hear them say "hypothermia" as opposed to anything violent, etc ... I will take it as they say ... Better than thinking poor Titus was injured maliciously by anyone, IMO ...

 

[Dee10]

I wished the Coroner would have commented on Titus's feet conditions...like yes/no, if there were indications that this child walked any amount outside....because that is the big question IMO.

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

“Preliminarily, it looks like it will most likely be ruled that the cause of death will be hypothermia,” Iron County coroner Tony Cole tells KMOX.

He says there were no obvious signs of trauma on the body of Titus Greyson Tackett that “would have killed this child.”

ETA - I'm not feeling foul play, but I feel confident they will make sure they will solve this.

 

[Hoosgirl]

Snipped from this link, bbm: http://fox2now.com/2016/02/11/questions-remain-after-3-year-old-found-dead-in-van-in-iron-county/


"...Meanwhile, members of the Child Fatality Review Panel met again Thursday afternoon. It’s required by law when a child dies. The panel is comprised of members of the sheriff’s department, health department, DFS, juvenile workers, the FBI, Missouri Highway Patrol, and other agencies. Highway Patrol and agencies who have been working the case get together. They share information they’ve learned in the past day to find out what led to Titus’ death.

“This is far from over. Right now we have a preliminary cause of death, but everybody is being interviewed,” said Russ Allen, chairman of the panel. “There’s a possibility charges could come later; that would lie with our prosecutor.” ..."

Also from your link:

Iron County Coroner Tony Cole was on-hand when the pathologist performed the autopsy. Cole said preliminary results show the frigid weather was too much for the little boy.

Good, I feel much better that it wasn’t just a coroner.

 

[white rabbit]

covermecagney, IMO, there was foul play, no doubt. how? i have no idea. I've "lost" a child, have a precocious child, et cetera and so on.
not one of my three have a thread here. so any of my personal experiences have zero impact on Titus's case, IMO...

the next case (and I hope there isn't one) where "parents" run "errands" at midnight when their child "wanders off" will for sure feel my wrath.

babies don't walk off into the darkness of frozen night in diapers. they just don't. not sure what world others live in but...in mine, that's called a crime.

regardless, you all did some darn good sleuthing on this case. well done, though the outcome was out of our control...goodnight folks.

 

[LaLaw2000]

Good thinking.

bold and underlined - wouldn't the dogs also alert if Titus had approached the property and opened the van door? A van door makes a noise, doesn't it?

And with the van right next to the house, wouldn't Titus have knocked on the door first?

ETA: maybe he did knock and nobody heard him?

BBM:

IIRC, that van was parked right at the side of the house and I would think someone would have heard it if indeed Titus was the one who opened the van door. I just do not believe he did because look how tiny he is in that pic of him.

Second bold: He has to have tiny little knuckles and would not have been able to make very much noise knocking, IMO.

GB this tiny little child. This should not have happened. We will just have to wait and see if there are any charges to come later. I understand Titus died of hypothermia, but there was neglect there also, in my opinion.

MOO

 

[LayzeeDayzee]

Sorry but if this was merely a case of this little boy getting up at midnight and wandering out into the cold wearing a diaper, then shame on the adults responsible for ensuring his care and safety. I'm sick of hearing "accidents happen" or rationalizations that some little kids are "runners." These precious children are gifts from God and they deserve to be 100% protected from harm. They deserve to have their parents/relatives and caregivers to take all steps to keep them safe. If your little one is a "runner" then put a latch lock up high on the door (or a deadbolt high enough up that only an adult could reach it). Sadly I don't have kids, but I have a couple of cats. Both are "runners" and would bolt out the front door if given even the slightest opportunity. As such I have taken diligent steps these past 15 years to ensure steps are taken not only by myself, but by family/visitors to my home....to ensure the door is opened and closed quickly, always first checking for a cat sitting by it ready to bolt. I also have taken steps to ensure my window and door screens are extra secure so that neither of them can push out a screen and escape. You might call me paranoid about them getting out....and in reality, even if they did, I'm sure they'd come right back home..........but these cats I rescued and I made a commitment to give them a good safe life which includes keeping them safe inside (safe from cars, vicious dogs, sickly feral cats, coyotes, sickos who poison cats, etc etc). In 15 years I've not had a cat escape. I can't even imagine if I had a child, how I would take all kinds of basic steps to ensure my child was always properly supervised and couldn't escape the house in the night. These poor children are being failed miserably. And if you can't ensure your child is kept safe at all times for God's sake don't continue to have more kids. This just makes me so angry.

THOUGH.......that being said, I don't buy the whole little one escape unnoticed, in the cold and pitch dark wearing nothing but a diaper........and walked as far as he did and got into a van and covered himself up with a blanket. If he was truly found by the owner of the van, covered with a blanket (and was not merely something that person did out of respect for the little dead boy), then that to me says the placing of the blanket on him was something personal.......done by a loved one or someone responsible for or involved with his death.

Has it been clarified who placed the blanket on him, has that info been released?

Also, while it may be plausible for a 3 yr old to open a van door, I find it unreasonable to think that he would also then have the strength and ability to close the van door, particularly in the dark.

<modsnip>

Yes! Assuming this isn't foul play, the story we've been given drives me nuts. If you have a little Houdini on your hands how about taking some extra precautions? The "official story" is the mom was only gone 1-1.5 hours, couldn't someone have made sure the kid didn't freaking walk out the front door into the pitch black freezing night? If granddad can't hear or stay awake, perhaps don't leave your child under his care. I know it's hard being a parent but they are only crazy dangerous for about 6 years so plan accordingly or terrible things can happen.

 

[Elainera]

I really don't want this to be any foul play at all but this statement bothers me a lot about the potential for being bias.

Its not like that house was exactly a "neighbor". The house was over 1/2 mile away down the highway.
This statement has me convinced he could be inadvertently biased. Not necessarily on purpose but since he knows the family and after reading that, I am worried now. Its not a fair statement. Wasn't really a neighbor.
There is no information they even knew that house over 1/2 mile away.

Maybe there is much more we are not privy to which is making them so sure of things.

bbm - I think the most important thing the coroner is privy to is Titus' body. There were no signs that he was killed by anything else but the cold. If something else would have killed him there would have been signs of that, but there weren't. So it does not make sense to speculate someone had a hand in his death, because - how? Taking the boy from the house and locking him into the van until he died of the cold, which would be the only possibility? He would have screamed, grandpa would have heard. Alternate scenarios don't make sense, which is why the coroner feels so sure. imo

 

[Rayemonde]

bbm - I think the most important thing the coroner is privy to is Titus' body. There were no signs that he was killed by anything else but the cold. If something else would have killed him there would have been signs of that, but there weren't. So it does not make sense to speculate someone had a hand in his death, because - how? Taking the boy from the house and locking him into the van until he died of the cold, which would be the only possibility? He would have screamed, grandpa would have heard. Alternate scenarios don't make sense, which is why the coroner feels so sure. imo

Lyndon Albers and Rainn Peterson... Both recently snatched from their homes then dumped, alive nearby. So it could happen.