Missing New Jersey boy Brendan Creato has been found dead in woods

Home Top

Kim, Kris, Kourtney and Kylie arrive back in LA by private jet as Khloe keeps vigil at comatose Lamar's bedside after he 'squeezed Kim's hand' - offering hope he may recover from brothel collapse
Tragedy as ABC News' medical expert Dr. Jamie Zimmerman, 31, drowns in Hawaii after losing her footing while crossing a river
Dismembered human torso with no head or limbs found floating in a Texas river
US spy chiefs hunt the new Snowden: Whistleblower leaks top secret drone assassination program that reveals how 90% of people killed in one 5-month spree WEREN'T targeted
Disgraced speaker Dennis Hastert will plead GUILTY of paying to cover up underage gay sex - and faces prison after agreeing to plea deal
Randy Quaid and wife Evi are freed from Canadian jail after judge rules there is not enough evidence to deport them to the U.S.
'It was straight out of a horror story': Brutally beaten dead body of mother hanging from a fence was dismissed by neighbors as a gory Halloween decoration
Welcome to Fakebook: More than 75% of people admit to making their lives seem more exciting on social media
Just a few weeks to go! Lauren Bush Lauren shows off a bulging baby bump at father-in-law Ralph's 76th birthday - as she prepares to welcome her first child next month
$Pic shows: Angel Ariel Escalante Perez was killed because he refused to murder.\n\nThis is the heartbreaking moment a dad embraces his critically ill son aged 12 who was thrown off a bridge by gangland thugs when he refused to kill a stranger.\n\nAngel Ariel Escalante Perez, 12, had been walking home from school when he was ambushed by the folks who decided to have some fun with the youngster.\n\nThey gave him a gun, and told him he had to shoot a bus driver or be killed himself.\n\nBecause his father Luis Escalante was a bus driver, the tearful schoolboy refused and said he would rather they killed him. They then gave him the choice of death by being chopped up by machetes, or thrown off a bridge.\n\nHe chose the latter, and as a result they threw him off the Incienso Bridge, located in Guatemala city, which is one of the longest bridges in Central America.\n\nDespite plunging an incredible 135 m (443 feet) he survived after landing in the thick foliage below but it also covered him$ Tragic moment father finds his dying son, 12, three days after he was thrown from a 450ft bridge for refusing to murder a 'random' bus driver - the job his parent has done for years
Escaped cartel boss El Chapo was 'cornered in rugged mountains in Mexico by soldiers' after US drug agents located his cell phone... but he managed to get away again
New CCTV from El Chapo prison break shows drug lord turning up his TV to drown out banging sound coming from his escape hole as control room guards ignore his absence for 25 MINUTES
EXCLUSIVE: Alcatraz escapees 'had wives and children in Brazil', their family claims - and they want their sentences commuted so they can 'come home' after 53 years
Paranormal investigator claims to have captured evidence of a black-eyed ghost child for the first time
A decapitated women, sacrificial dogs and a wooden 'sex toy': Danish Iron Age remains reveal macabre practices
EXCLUSIVE: Lamar Odom poured out his heart about marriage split from Khloe to brothel madam he kissed 'like a mother' - in between romps with two blondes and gorging on KFC and T-bone steaks
EXCLUSIVE: 'Khloe is the one person who can reach Lamar. It hurt him that they are not together' - coach who was father to Odom says Kardashians became his family and split led to 'craziness'
'Let's dance again together soon': Kylie Jenner posts throwback photo with Lamar Odom as she asks fans to send prayers
Khloe Kardashian 'battling with guilt' and 'overwhelming' duty of making medical decisions for Lamar... as her family leave hospital and return to LA
Kanye West is 'taking care of daughter North and Kourtney's three children' as Kardashian sisters visit Lamar at Vegas hospital
Khloe Kardashian hits back at 'publicity-seeking' boss of Nevada brothel where Lamar Odam was found who said the TV family tried to silence him from doing press
'I'm devastated!': Oprah Winfrey reveals she's pained by Lamar Odom's 'overdose' because it reminds her of her own sister's battle with addiction
$Christina Wren is seen attending Habitat for Humanity of Greater Los Angeles Builders Ball at the Beverly Wilshire Four Seasons Hotel in Los Angeles, California.\n\nPictured: Magic Johnson\nRef: SPL1152358 141015 \nPicture by: gotpap/Bauergriffin.com\n\n$ 'We just hope he pulls through': Magic Johnson sends heartfelt message Lamar Odom's way as his good friend fights for his life in hospital
Lamar Odom gets a visit from former Lakers teammate Trevor Ariza as NBA stars send their prayers to the player 'with the biggest heart' who used to buy new suits for rookies every season

Brendan Creato was reported missing by his distraught father today at 6am
Police mounted a huge search for boy who disappeared from home last night
Three hours later the canine unit tracked down the body of the three-year-old
Investigators awaiting autopsy results but don't believe death is suspicious
So far no arrests have been made in connection with little boy's tragic death

Published: 15:13 EST, 13 October 2015 | Updated: 09:24 EST, 14 October 2015

View
comments

A toddler who was reported missing from his New Jersey home has been found dead in nearby woods just three hours later.

Three-year-old Brendan Creato disappeared from his family's apartment in Cooper Street, Haddon Township, last night wearing only his pajamas, neon socks and Mickey Mouse slippers.

Police mounted a huge search effort to find the lost child after his distraught father filed a missing person's report at 6am this morning.

Scroll down for video

Three-year-old Brendan Creato disappeared from his family's apartment in Cooper Street, Haddon Township, last night wearing only his pajamas, neon socks and Mickey Mouse slippers

A toddler reported going missing from his New Jersey home has been found dead in nearby woods just three hours later

Residents, who were notified by a reverse 911 call, also launched their own search parties in the area.

Just before 9am, police dogs were able to track down the boy to wooded area near South Park Drive - around a mile away from his house. Tragically it was too late, the child had already passed away, reported ABC Action News Philadelphia.

Investigators said they did not consider the boy's death to be suspicious.

Officers cordoned off the area this morning as police gathered at the scene near the Cooper River. More than a dozen detectives could also be seen near the boy's home.

Brendan splits his time between his mother's and fathers homes who have shared custody.

The little boy was said to have spent Monday with his grandparents before he was dropped off at his dad's house at around 9.30pm. Shortly after that, he had disappeared.

Jia Becker, a relative of Brendan's father, described Brendan as 'fun, he was a playful little boy. Energetic, always happy.'

Just before 9am, police dogs were able to track down the boy to wooded area near South Park Drive - around a mile away from his house

Tragically the young boy had already passed away by the time that police tracked him down to the woods

Authorities say they will have more information when the receive the results of the autopsy.

Andy McNeil, spokesman for the Camden County prosecutor's office, would not confirm if there were any clear signs of injury to the child and said it was currently 'a very ongoing and active investigation.'

'Sadly the boy was found deceased,' he told reporters. 'We are waiting the results of the autopsy to be conducted to determine the cause and manner of death.

Camden County prosecutor and Haddon Township Police Chief confirmed that no arrests have been made.

The death has rocked the community of Haddon Township in south New Jersey with shocked neighbors seen hugging each other in the streets.

A woman, who said the toddler was her nephew, was seen sobbing outside the boy's home which had been cordoned off by police, reported Philly.com.

Haddon Township resident Seneid Jen O’Rourke Kennedy, who had helped with the search, said the family had been 'beside themselves'.

She said the boy's grandfather, who had also been out looking, said Brendan had gone missing between midnight at 6am.

Sara Kopacz, 61, and her husband, Rich, who live in the neighborhood, said they had been praying for the Brendan's return.

Police mounted a huge search effort across Haddon Township to find the lost child who left his family home in 100 block of Cooper Street (pictured) last night wearing his pajamas and neon socks

Officers cordoned off the area this morning as police gathered at the scene near the Cooper River. More than a dozen detectives could also be seen near the boy's home

Sara, who walked past Cooper Street this morning to see it buzzing with police, said: 'We were sort of praying that they would have found the boy,' Sara Kopacz said. 'I feel for his parents. I wouldn't want to be in that kind of situation myself.'

Some residents searched their properties after receiving the call about the 3-year-old missing near Cooper Street and Virginia Avenue. The automated call from police and the school district, warned locals to check the barrels, bins and boxes stacked along the street for trash day.

Father-of-two Brian Hueber, 44, who lives a block away from the toddler's home, searched his garage and along the street after he was alerted by police.

'We were all sick to our stomachs about it,' he told Philly.com.

'I almost got out of the car and I'm so glad I didn't because I wouldn't be able to handle that mentally or emotionally,' nearby resident Courtney Doss told NJ.com.

Others questioned how a child so young could have walked almost a mile to the woods near the river by himself.

The town's close-knit community will hold a vigil for Brendan at dusk on Tuesday near his home.

'I just felt this needs to be done,' said organizer Dave Wallace. 'I just hoped to reach enough people to let this family know we all care and have their back. We are all family in this town. We stick together.'

Kennedy added that despite the tragedy, she was proud of the community's response.

On her Facebook page, she said: 'So many people came out to search for the little boy. Everybody just individually looking through the neighborhood. I'm proud to live in this amazing town!!'