The five-year-old autistic boy who disappeared from his home in rural Oregon days before being found dead in the woods died of hypothermia, according to police.
Joshua McCoy was reported missing on Nov. 9 after his mother, Angela German, was unable to locate him after waking up from a nap at 5:30 p.m.
After a three-day search, her naked body was found in the coastal forest of Coos County, less than two miles from her home in Hauser.
On Friday, a Coos County sheriff’s deputy announced that the boy died of hypothermia, a significant drop in body temperature, which typically occurs when exposed to the cold for a long period of time.
News of his cause of death comes about a week after police revealed they believe the five-year-old may have been murdered.
Investigators discovered that his bare feet lacked marks that would be present if he had walked to the wooded area himself, leading police to believe something sinister could be at play. The people reported.
Additionally, the new search warrant affidavit filed in Coos County about two weeks ago said the boy’s body, which was found about 20 feet from a local road, had no signs of trauma, no petechiae or scratches or cuts that were consistent with Joshua walking through brambles or brambles.
The affidavit also noted that there were tire tracks in the mud near where her body was found, as well as on the tires of her mother’s car.
Joshua McCoy, the five-year-old boy who went missing from his Oregon home on Nov. 9 before being found dead in nearby woods, died of hypothermia, police said.
After a three-day search, her naked body was found in the coastal forest of Coos County, less than two miles from her home.
Joshua was reported missing by his mother’s friend who lives in Utah after she called her instead of the police. KEZI 9 reported.
His reasoning for calling a friend instead of the police was said to be due to a past bad experience with the department.
German told police more than three weeks ago that she had woken up from a four-hour nap to find her non-verbal son missing from her home.
The report sparked a three-day search and rescue effort in which local and federal authorities worked to locate him.
Authorities then announced on Nov. 12 that his remains were located in the coastal forest of Coos County.
The new affidavit highlighted the fact that German’s story changed several times about how long she had been asleep and she eventually told authorities she took barbiturates and ketamine to help her sleep.
During the investigation, authorities said Joshua had a cell phone with him, but a ping from the device “did not provide any fruitful information.”
Her phone found evidence “that led investigators to reasonably believe that Joshua had wandered away from the house while Ms. German was sleeping.” KOIN reported.
News of his cause of death comes about a week after police revealed they believe the five-year-old may have been murdered. (Pictured: Joshua with his father Lawson Amos McCoy)
The department added that despite finding that data, “there are still laboratory results that have not been received” and that the evidence currently “points to these articulable facts.”
Lawson Amos McCoy, Joshua’s father, demanded answers after speaking to Oregon Live last month, shortly after his son’s body was found.
“I want the truth, plain and simple,” he said. ‘I don’t care about anything else. My baby is gone.
The 47-year-old father met German when they both lived in Utah before deciding to buy a house together and have a baby.
The couple moved to Coos Bay in a house that resided on a secluded stretch of road next to a large pond after German got a job at a local hospital as a nurse, Oregon Live reported.
While working at the hospital, McCoy, who was receiving disability benefits for his service in the U.S. Air Force, cared for his son like a stay-at-home father.
“I took care of him, I bathed him and I fed him,” he told the outlet. ‘I mean I knew his favorite foods. I knew his favorite colors. “I can’t believe this happened.”
A friend of his mother who lives in Utah reported Joshua missing after she called her instead of the police. Her mother, Angela German, said she decided to do it because of a past bad experience with the department.
McCoy hasn’t seen his son since he left Oregon and is convinced that if he hadn’t left, his son would still be alive today. (In the photo: father and son)
But McCoy hasn’t seen his son since he left Oregon and is convinced that if he hadn’t left, his son would still be alive today.
“He thinks it’s all his fault, just because he left JJ,” Joshua McCoy, McCoy’s brother, told the outlet.
McCoy’s brother also created a GoFundMe last month to help Joshua’s father pay for the funeral costs, which he wanted to have in Ohio to be buried next to his great-grandfather and great-grandmother. – as well as therapy for family members.
Some of the funds are also expected to go toward therapy for family members, as well as hiring a private investigator to investigate the young man’s death.
The new warrant sought to search German’s home and seize his Porsche for forensic testing, as well as search Joshua’s cell phone that was found near his body when it was discovered, KEZI 9 reported.
McCoy noted that he has not had any contact with German since the horrific outcome, and his biggest regret is continuing to leave Oregon.
After announcing Joshua’s cause of death, the Coos County Sheriff’s Office said the investigation is ongoing and the department is mourning the young man.
No one is in custody or facing charges at this time. No suspects have been named in the case either.
‘The Coos County Sheriff’s Office is mourning Joshua. “As sworn members of this community to protect, the Coos County Sheriff’s Office spared no expense and exhausted all appropriate measures available to try to find Joshua,” the department said.
“It is as important for investigators to prove the innocence of the parties involved as it is to prove their guilt.”
The state Department of Human Services is also investigating how Joshua was treated at home by his mother.
Court records showed that the department had recently issued a “collection order” after an initial investigation that lasted several months into German’s alleged alcohol use, neglect and mistreatment of his son, KEZI 9 reported.
No one is in custody or facing charges at this time.
No suspects have been named in the case either.