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

[pepelepolecat]

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 -- In a rural area, that IS a neighbor.

 

[keeponsearching]

I think Neighbors is another term we all use differently.. My neighbor is next door, not the people who live 1/2 mile away. But for some neighbor can be everyone on the road.

 

[krig101]

I have a 3 year old boy who is very strong/tall for his age. I just cannot see him opening a van door and closing it. However I could see him covering himself up. And the errand at midnight nags at me. Having a tough time with this one.......my gut just tells me that there is more to this.
Rest in peace sweet child.

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[PowMom01]

You guys are moving fast so I don't know if this had been addressed.

Was there any mention of the condition of his feet? I know the autopsy showed no signs of trauma but I would think he would have some minor injuries from walking/running under those conditions. TIA


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[krig101]

You guys are moving fast so I don't know if this had been addressed.

Was there any mention of the condition of his feet? I know the autopsy showed no signs of trauma but I would think he would have some minor injuries from walking/running under those conditions. TIA


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Very good point!

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[JeannaT]

I understand the frustration, that this was a beautiful little boy who now, in the blink of an eye, is gone for all time. Everyone's life is a finite number of years, and his life was 3 years long.

Some people live to 93, some 32, Titus' life on earth lasted 3 years.

Lots of things take children - disease, disability at birth, accidents in the home, purposeful harm, and finally, wandering off or dangerous behavior by the child himself. Boys wander off at an alarming rate at this age, where it's rare for girls. You hardly ever year of a girl slipping out the back door and ending up miles away by her own doing, although it does happen. Rarely.

Titus is gone, and in his wake is a grieving family, and a community with parents who are rethinking their door locks.

RIP sweetie. Gone too soon.

 

[Elainera]

You guys are moving fast so I don't know if this had been addressed.

Was there any mention of the condition of his feet? I know the autopsy showed no signs of trauma but I would think he would have some minor injuries from walking/running under those conditions. TIA


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His feet were not mentioned by the coroner but he did mention that Titus had a few scratches on his body which most likely came from going through bushes.

 

[Dockins]

Maybe he entered the van through the front door and crawled into the back. Having had two baby brothers in my early 20's, and two sons of my own, I believe boys can and will do anything, oftentimes defying what seems possible.
Thoughts of compassion and healing to the loved ones of Ttus.

 

[zencompass]

Sending prayers out to the family and loved ones of this little guy.

Also sending prayers of comfort to all of the police and officials and the wonderful volunteers who all set out with hope in their hearts that they would find little Titus alive. You are all true heroes.

 

[cobalt sky]

Some interesting information in article at this link http://m.stltoday.com/news/local/cr...571e-856b-3b96c1909fa3.html?mobile_touch=true

Snipped from article, bbm:

"The boy's mother was visiting the ex-boyfriend at the home of the ex-boyfriend's father on Killarney Drive. Iron County Sheriff Roger Medley said the mother and ex-boyfriend told police they ran an errand about midnight and left the child with a grandparent. They returned about 1:30am to discover the door to the house open and the child missing, the Sheriff said..."

"Cole [Drew Cole, son of County Coroner Tony Cole] said the woods between the Killarney address and the van would be a challenge for a child to get through, although he also said that no motorist had reported seeing him along Highway 72."

"Sheriff Medley said the mother and friend were seen at a Casey's convenience store during the time they were away."

Also in the article, a family member describes how Titus has "wandered off" before while adults were distracted playing a game.

 

[Lilibet]

Some interesting information in article at this link http://m.stltoday.com/news/local/cr...571e-856b-3b96c1909fa3.html?mobile_touch=true

Snipped from article, bbm:

"The boy's mother was visiting the ex-boyfriend at the home of the ex-boyfriend's father on Killarney Drive. Iron County Sheriff Roger Medley said the mother and ex-boyfriend told police they ran an errand about midnight and left the child with a grandparent. They returned about 1:30am to discover the door to the house open and the child missing, the Sheriff said..."

"Cole [Drew Cole, son of County Coroner Tony Cole] said the woods between the Killarney address and the van would be a challenge for a child to get through, although he also said that no motorist had reported seeing him along Highway 72."

"Sheriff Medley said the mother and friend were seen at a Casey's convenience store during the time they were away."

Also in the article, a family member describes how Titus has "wandered off" before while adults were distracted playing a game.

In the same article, the family member says that Titus was smart and curious and was known to climb into vehicles on his own. He describes Titus opening the difficult door of his pickup truck and being found sitting in the front seat at a family gathering. Titus was curious about keys and vehicles and knew what every key in the house went to.

Titus lived with his mother, grandmother, 1yo sister and other relatives in Potosi. His biological father did not live with him.

http://m.stltoday.com/news/local/cr...571e-856b-3b96c1909fa3.html?mobile_touch=true

 

[cobalt sky]

In the same article, the family member says that Titus was smart and curious and was known to climb into vehicles on his own. He describes Titus opening the difficult door of his pickup truck and being found sitting in the front seat at a family gathering. Titus was curious about keys and vehicles and knew what every key in the house went to.

Titus lived with his mother, grandmother, 1yo sister and other relatives in Potosi. His biological father did not live with him.

http://m.stltoday.com/news/local/cr...571e-856b-3b96c1909fa3.html?mobile_touch=true

I saw that too! Sounds like he really needed to be kept under close watch at all times. Also, the article didn't say the 1-year-old daughter lives with Amber, actually from what I understand the 1-year-old daughter mostly lives with the ex-boyfriend and grandfather on Killarney Dr.

 

[pepelepolecat]

In the same article, the family member says that Titus was smart and curious and was known to climb into vehicles on his own. He describes Titus opening the difficult door of his pickup truck and being found sitting in the front seat at a family gathering. Titus was curious about keys and vehicles and knew what every key in the house went to.

Titus lived with his mother, grandmother, 1yo sister and other relatives in Potosi. His biological father did not live with him.

http://m.stltoday.com/news/local/cr...571e-856b-3b96c1909fa3.html?mobile_touch=true

I almost hesitate to post this ... but I wonder if he might have had as-yet-undiganosed autism. Many of the autistic children I've known have been fascinated with vehicles, trains, trucks, cars and things like that AND they have a tendency to wander. It doesn't alleviate the tragedy, but it might help answer the question of "Why?" that is haunting so many of us. (PURE speculation, moo) He sounds like a precocious, fun little guy.

 

[cobalt sky]

I don't know if these will be useful or not but I will post here just in case. There are a few Casey's Convenience Stores in the area as can be seen on the map image below. The purple X is where Killarney Shores is located. According to the site, Location A is the closest and is open 24 hours. Locations B (red tab under C), C, and E are only open until 11pm. So it is likely that the went to Location A. The next map image shows the route and approximate distance/time.


https://www.caseys.com/locations




https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Cas...f980e91826fd19!2m2!1d-90.5653993!2d37.5950511

 

[1&2&3]

I have missed part of this story so this may have been discussed.

Has it been mentioned if the grandfather that Titus was left with was awake or already in bed? Did he know he was to listen for Titus?

If he was awake and still up, where was he in the house that he did not hear or see Titus slipping out the door?

 

[tabacue]

Don't know if this has been mentioned, but I wonder if the parent/ex-boyfriend even told anyone they were running an errand? Maybe they thought everyone was asleep and they could get out and back before anyone woke up. If the baby woke up and didn't see his mom, he may have very well went outside to find her. I have 4 kids of my own and two step-children, they are not awake at midnight...even on a weekend.

 

[katydid23]

Some interesting information in article at this link http://m.stltoday.com/news/local/cr...571e-856b-3b96c1909fa3.html?mobile_touch=true

Snipped from article, bbm:

"The boy's mother was visiting the ex-boyfriend at the home of the ex-boyfriend's father on Killarney Drive. Iron County Sheriff Roger Medley said the mother and ex-boyfriend told police they ran an errand about midnight and left the child with a grandparent. They returned about 1:30am to discover the door to the house open and the child missing, the Sheriff said..."

"Cole [Drew Cole, son of County Coroner Tony Cole] said the woods between the Killarney address and the van would be a challenge for a child to get through, although he also said that no motorist had reported seeing him along Highway 72."

"Sheriff Medley said the mother and friend were seen at a Casey's convenience store during the time they were away."

Also in the article, a family member describes how Titus has "wandered off" before while adults were distracted playing a game.

What do you do at a convenience store for over an hour , after midnight? Are there video or arcade games there? Do they have a friend working there and they were visiting?

It just seems odd to be there for so long.

 

[birdsmomma]

Hi all, this is my first time posting so I hope I am doing it correctly!

I thought that I had read that the ex-boyfriends sister lived at this house as well? I might be totally wrong and read that Titus's sister lived there? Does this sound familiar to anyone?

 

[cncanderson]

If the parents were trying to work things out and the boy was sleeping on the couch, they may have gone to pick something up and also just sit in the car and talk or hanky pank. Who knows. I'm guessing Titus heard the car door shut and went after maybe with a blanket. Possibly going in the opposite direction because he didn't get out the door quick enough (maybe put on shoes?) and ran. He wasn't going to notice how cold it was with his adrenaline pumping and scared that Momma was going away; leaving him. By the time he stops, its easy to think he could have run long enough that he was close to that half a mile mark and walked a ways further. Then saw the car, hands weren't frozen, because he was holding the blanket. Got in and huddled down. Maybe he tried knocking at a neighbors door but no one heard him because they were sleeping? Or he's been told to stay away from strangers.

 

[AmyPond]

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.

A 3 year old is not a baby. No one can know what EVERY 3 year old would do. They are all drastically different.

I think that toddlers running off is preventable. But unfortunately, some people (especially grandparents, it seems) are just not as diligent as they should be. I am wondering if these grandparents didn't know Titus very well and weren't aware of his running off habits.