CLAYTON SMITH - 17 Months - Putnam County - FL

Multiple agencies search for missing child

Wednesday, October 27, 2010 at 9:25 p.m.


Specialists from Alachua and Marion counties were assisting in the search for a toddler who disappeared from the yard of his Putnam County home Wednesday evening.

According to the Putnam County Sheriff's Office, the 17-month-old boy was reported missing from his family's home at 846 Cousintown Road at 6:18 p.m. The child's mother told officials he had been playing in the yard and was missing for about 20 minutes before deputies were called.

A search for the child was being conducted in wooded areas around the home by deputies. Members of the Putnam County Sheriff's Office Dive Team were called in to search a small pond. A helicopter from the Joint Aviation Unit of the Alachua County Sheriff's Office and Gainesville Police Department, as well as bloodhounds from Lowell Correctional Institution in Marion County, also were assisting in the search late Wednesday.

Putnam County became the focus of intense scrutiny on Feb. 2, 2009, when another child was reported missing. Haleigh Cummings was 5-years-old when she disappeared from her father's home in the Hermit's Cove area. She has not been seen since, despite intensive searches.

Report: Toddler found dead in Putnam County pond

Authorities in Putnam County are investigating after 17-month-old boy was found dead in a pond Wednesday evening, firstcoastnews.com said.

Clayton Smith vanished while his mother was watching him while they were in the back yard of their home, a spokesman for the Putnam County Sheriff's Office said.

"She must have gotten distracted for a few minutes and the child got out of her eyesight, Gary Bowling of the Putnam County Sheriff's Office is quoted as saying.

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http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/breakingnews/os-toddler-body-found-putnam-county-20101028,0,5516338.story