Missing and Murdered Children

Update January 27, 2007 4 p.m. PST:

During the news conference held today it was revealed that Loic Roger’s body was found in a septic tank less than 10 feet from where he was last seen on Wednesday night. The sheriff said that searchers had looked in the septic tank during the initial search but did not see the body. It was only after they drained the septic tank on Friday evening when they discovered the body.

This quote from the news conference reported in the online edition of the Missoulian leads me to believe that the investigation could turn into something more than just an accident:

“…The manhole-sized lid to the septic tank was closed. Meehan declined to characterize the boy’s death as a murder, but said investigators do not believe he could have climbed into the tank and put the lid back on...” [Source]

According to the sheriff the autopsy indicates that Loic died due to drowning.

A report earlier stated that both parents had been given lie dectector tests. However, during the news conference FBI Agent Rick Rasmussen said one parent had been given a lie detector test. He declined to reveal which parent was given the test or the results of the test. The investigation will take about five days to complete. [Source]

Original Post:

The Amber Alert that was issued on Thursday for a missing toddler is canceled today because his remains were located late last night.

Loic Rogers, age 3 years, was reported missing Wednesday night by his father.

At least 200 people, many of them volunteers, came out to search for Loic because they had seen the story on the news about the boy’s disappearance. Sex Offenders in the area were interviewed by detectives and some homes and backyards were searched as well. The search was pretty extensive on Wednesday night in the freezing cold temperatures. The Sheriff indicated that it did not look good on Wednesday night after the extensive search when they failed to locate the toddler. Given the child’s age and the weather conditions it was not possible this little boy just wondered away from the home and was not found.

Friday morning the parents, who involved in a custody dispute including two other children, were both given lie detector tests. Lie detector tests are usually routine in missing children cases in order to rule out family members.

Loic disappeared outside of his grandparent’s home. Some news stories say he disappeared from outside of a home of a family friend.

The story the father gave to detectives regarding Loic’s disappearance is the following:

“…His father said he took Loic out to the car and told him to get in at 7 p.m. Wednesday, going back into the house to get Loic’s little sister.
The father “said he was inside only for a minute,” Meehan said Friday. When he came back outside, the boy was gone. The father said he searched for about 20 minutes before calling law enforcement…”

Loic Rogers remains were located late last night near Kalispel, Montana. A news conference is scheduled for this afternoon.

Quoting from projectsafekids.org:

“…After speaking with a representative from The Flathead County Sheriff we are told Foul Play was not involved. A Press Conference is scheduled for 3:00 P.M. on Saturday 01/27/2007…” [Source]

It appears this little guy just did wander away from the car and had some sort of accident. My thoughts and prayers go out to Loic’s mom, dad and family members.

[ Source ]