Boy reported missing at Arizona campsite found dead
The body of a 5-year-old boy who went missing from an Arizona campsite Thursday was found Monday evening by a group of volunteer searchers, the Coconino County sheriff's office said.
Jerold Joseph Williams was reported missing by his mother at a campsite 12 miles south of Jacobs Lake, near the intersection of Arizona Route 67 and Forest Service Road 241, the sheriff's office said in a news release.
Jerold's mother said her son was last seen around 1:30 Thursday afternoon chasing grasshoppers 100 to 200 yards from the campsite. She and 15 to 20 friends and family members also camping spent four hours searching for Williams after losing sight of him.
The boy's body was found about 4:30 p.m. about 20 feet off the road from Forest Service Road 240, which is about 4 miles point-to-point from the campsite or 9 miles by road, the sheriff's office wrote in a release.
Jerold was found fully clothed with no external injuries and is believed to have died from environmental exposure. It is unlikely he survived the first night, the sheriff's office said.
Contact Kimber Laux at klaux@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0381. Find her on Twitter: @lauxkimber.
