The search for missing Wisconsin toddler Isaiah Theis is over. The 2-year-old's bodywas found a day after he disappeared while playing with his big brother in the family's yard. Sadly, he didn't get far.
Cops say they found Isaiah late Wednesday night in the trunk of a car. The car belonged to a customer of Isaiah's dad, who fixes them on the family property in western Wisconsin.
The fact that a 2-year-old died is heartbreaking.
The fact that he was under the noses of the searchers this whole time? That makes me want to ball up my fists and slam them on the table in frustration.
Police say they were told the car was locked, but they did peer inside. They even looked all around it. But they didn't look inside the trunk, at least not until more than 24 hours had passed. They'd technically called off their search when one police officer went for the trunk.
So far the police haven't said what it was that finally DID send them to the trunk of the car, nor have they released a cause of death -- little Isaiah's body is being autopsied.
In the meantime, it's hard not to wonder if Isaiah would still be here if someone had thought to look in that trunk earlier. If he was alive when he went in there, it's hard not to wonder what it was like for this little guy, knowing he was still home, thinking his big brother would come get him or Mommy and Daddy would save him.
Sadly, we may never know. The rescuers did they best they could in a horrible situation. And I'm almost positive they all went home and hugged their own children a little tighter.
Image via police