Update 0000 Hours PST / 0100 Hours MDT

#FindingDavid

While those celebrated and were about to ring in the New Year, a family painstaking reported their little boy, David Puckett, 6, missing around 1745 hours MDT from his home in the 15700 block and Amherst Place in Aurora, Colorado.

He had been known to wander off a few times before but was always brought back by concerned citizens.

arapahoe-co-sar-finding-david

This time it was different. Very different.

The Aurora Police Department was called out to search for their missing little boy. When Patrols canvassed the area and found nothing, a National Center for Missing and Exploited Center (NCMEC) organization deployed one of their own Bloodhound K9 teams “Jessie” around 2000 Hours.  Along with Bloodhound K9 “Jessie”  from nearby Jefferson County, Aurora PD Patrols, County Deputies and with air support from Dallas PD’s Air One, would search throughout the night with a negative find for David Puckett.

Social Media Blasts

Law Enforcement immediately began releasing Media releases regarding his disappearances and creating a hashtag #FindingDavid.

Highlights from Case

Here are some of the highlights from #FindingDavid ‘s case.

December 31, 2016

  • David is considered as an At-Risk child due to his age, length of time missing and frigid weather conditions.
  • One hour delayed on night missing due to Family looking in all places where has frequented, cannot locate.
  • Aurora PD called.
  • NCMEC Bloodhounds are deployed
  • Officers, County Deputies and SAR personnel search throughout the night

January 1, 2017

  • ERT and SRT units are activated
  • Major Crimes unit, Crimes Against Children Unit gets involved in the case
  • (3) Reverse 911 calls are sent to Aurora’s 27,000 residents, approximately 2.5 miles from David’s home
  • Aurora Citizens Police Alumni Association deploys 400 of their Citizens Missing and Abducted Response Team

January 2 2017

  • Marking 3 days of searching by Officers conducting extensive neighborhood canvasses and interviews
  • Looked through parents home several times through Search
  • Police tell the public, residents to STOP voluntary searches as they could interfere with the SAR Dogs (Bloodhounds)
  • Alerts have been previously sent to Aurora Public Schools parents; set-up Counseling for parents, staff and children if needed
  • Witness report says seen missing boy on Saturday
  • AMBER ALERT issued
  • Family is cooperative
  • Arapahoe Rescue Patrol and Officers checked bodies of water in area

January 3, 2017

  • 1st and Final Press release from APD
  • 150 Law Enforcement personnel, 200 citizens have helped with the Search
  • 6 cadaver dogs (trailing/air scent SAR Dogs) deployed on January 2nd & 3rd.
  • 1 SAR Dog has a positive find in a smaller pond in the Olympic Park (PLS near Park)
  • Divers search and locate the body of an unknown child inside the pond and under the ice
  • Police say they are unable to provide a positive ID; tell Family takes a long time for this process
  • Police are treating pond as a crime scene, w/CSI & FBI teams on site
  • Police say there were hundreds of searchers, family, citizens and Officers that checked all bodies of water & no indication of someone falling in or under the ice (searched numerous times)
  • APD states since they are not able to ID the body of the child, they are continuing to look but all Pressers are now terminated, except for Press releases on Social Media (Twitter/Facebook)

Incident Partners

There were many who helped locate David Puckett from the initial call on NYE until the very end.  Here is a listing of those Incident Cooperators.

  • Arapahoe County Sheriff Office
  • Arapahoe Fire Department Technical Rescue Team
  • Arapahoe Rescue Patrol
  • Aurora PD: ERT, SRT, Crimes Against Children Unit, Major Crimes Unit
  • Aurora Citizens Police Alumni Association: Citizens Missing & Abducted  Response Team
  • Aurora Public Schools:  Staff and Parents
  • CBI
  • Dallas PD: Air One helo
  • FBI
  • Jefferson County Bloodhound K9 Team
  • Joint Terrorism Task Force
  • Metro Dallas Crime Stoppers
  • NCMEC
  • Rocky Mountain Safe Streets Task Force
  • Search and Rescue Dogs of the US (SARDUS)
  • Westminister Colorado PD

Help for the Rescuer

It does not matter if you are a Volunteer, Police Officer, Firefighter or School Staff Member, it is hard to lose a child or respond to a call dealing with a child.  If you are feeling grief because of this loss, we recommend that you reach out to your local organization such as the Police or Fire Chaplin (or confidentially to @SafeCallNow) or to your local School Counselor.

Editor’s Comments:

“Though APD has not officially ID’d this found child, we know their Family is looking for him/her.  We send our sincere and heartfelt prayers and thoughts to the Puckett Family during this difficult time as the continued search for David goes on.

(c) 2017 The #NWFireBlog