Authorities find body after search for missing 2-year-old boy

By Jason Burger

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    OKFUSKEE COUNTY, Oklahoma (KOCO) — The hours-long search for a missing toddler was canceled after his body was discovered.

It was not the outcome anyone wanted, but the effort was huge. The whole area along Highway 56 was packed with two dozen agencies and they tried everything from drones, dogs, and even airboats to try to find the 2-year-old boy.

Sometime before 7 p.m. Monday, Ares Muse was found dead in Okfuskee County, not far from the Interstate 40 exit near the Seminole County line. It’s still not clear how he was able to get out of his own house.

KOCO 5 was told there were several locks he would have had to unlock to get out. Investigators will work to see if there is anything criminal about this case, but they could not say either way at this time.

Officials said the 2-year-old originally crawled into bed around 1:30 a.m. and when his father woke up at 6:30 a.m., he said he noticed Ares was not in bed and wasn’t in the house.

Tribal leaders told KOCO 5, “The hardest thing for them is when it turns out the way it did today. Seeing them, and the blood sweat, and tears they put out today is something they do on a regular basis, but it never gets any easier for them.”

Investigators would not say where the 2-year-old was found or how close he was to the home.

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