LAWRENCEBURG, Ind. — Crews resumed searching the Ohio River for the bodies of two missing children, including a 6-year-old boy who police say died when his mother tried to abandon him at a park and drive away but he grabbed for a door and was dragged.
Crews are hoping to find the bodies of 6-year-old James Hutchinson and 3-year-old Nylo Lattimore before another rain or rise in the river. Authorities said Sunday’s search of the river and its banks in Indiana from Lawrenceburg to Aurora was expected to last until sunset.
Preble County Sheriff Michael Simpson told reporters that the river looked “like mud” from the helicopter, which would pose a challenge for divers.
“We have two families that their child is likely in that river,” Simpson told WXIX-TV. “... We’re going to keep forging ahead and we’re going to do everything we can to find these kids.”
Authorities say they believe James Hutchinson’s mother and her boyfriend dumped the boy’s body into the river a week ago near Lawrenceburg, Indiana. Flood conditions prevented a search effort over the past week.
The mother, 29-year-old Brittany Gosney was indicted Friday in Butler County on 16 counts, including murder, corpse abuse and endangering children. Authorities have said she told investigators that her son was killed at a park in southern Preble County when she tried to drive away and he was dragged.
Her 42-year-old boyfriend, James Hamilton,, was also indicted on 15 counts, including abuse of a corpse, evidence tampering and child endangerment. Butler County court records didn’t list attorneys for the jailed couple.
Authorities say the boy’s two siblings have been removed from the Middletown home.
Nylo Lattimore is the son of 29-year-old Nyteisha Lattimore, who is believed to have been killed on or about Dec. 5 in her apartment in the Walnut Hills neighborhood of Cincinnati. Her body was found about a week later near a downtown Cincinnati bridge. The county coroner said she died of stab wounds.
Nylo Lattimore’s body hasn’t been recovered despite a search of 180 miles of the Ohio river by police and volunteers. Police say the child’s blood was found on a blanket recovered with his mother’s body and his stroller was found in the river nearby.
Hamilton County prosecutors earlier announced a death penalty indictment against 21-year-old Desean Brown, who is charged with two counts of aggravated murder as well as abuse of a corpse and evidence-tampering. He earlier pleaded not guilty earlier to charges in the case.
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