UPDATED 9.10.2012 by Julie Montanaro
CORRECTION: The child's name is Bryton Cason, not Brayton Cason. The spelling provided by the sheriff's office was inaccurate.
-----------------------------------------------
[UPDATE] September 7, 2012- 6:45pm
by Julie Montanaro
A missing four year old was found dead and deputies in Donalsonville, Georgia say a dog killed him.
Brayton Cason was mauled in his own front yard.
Cason disappeared from his home on Acorn Drive Wednesday night. A few hours later, bloodhounds brought in to search for him found him dead in the tall grass in his own front yard.
The medical examiner says he was killed by a dog and died of blunt force trauma.
Shayne Cason fought back sobs as he tried to talk about his son and the tragic way he died.
"It shouldn't have happened to him. Somebody's going to pay for this . Somebody's going to pay somehow," Shayne Cason said.
The sheriff says the boy's mother was in the shower and two other adults home at the time did not see him go outside.
Neighbors believe a reddish-blonde bulldog that was abandoned in the neighborhood may be to blame. Yet the sheriff says no one witnessed the attack or heard it.
"That's been the real issue with the whole thing is nobody witnessed it and so we don't know what dog or dogs are responsible for it," Seminole County Sheriff Heath Elliott said.
"People just need to understand in the blink of an eye a family pet, a wild pet anything can happen to their children. You watch your babies," said Jennifer Swanson who accompanied the boy's from Arkansas.
"Dogs really should be put in ... I guess you'd say fenced areas ... so that they can't get out and do these devastating things and I hope they do find the dog," said Sandra Leggett of nearby Iron City.
The sheriff says they caught that reddish-blonde bulldog at about 4:30 Friday afternoon. He says investigators are now trying to figure out what to do next, whether it's possible to do any DNA testing or an autopsy to try to confirm whether it's the dog that killed Brayton.
________________________________________________
UPDATED 9.7.2012 by Julie Montanaro
The Seminole County Sheriff's Office confirms the boy's name is really Brayton Cason, not Brayton Roland. They initially thought he and his mother shared the same last name.
___________________________________________________
Updated 9.7.2012 by Julie Montanaro
A boy killed in a dog attack was found dead in the tall grass near his home in Donalsonville, Georgia.
Seminole County Sheriff Heath Elliott says bloodhounds found the child two to three hours into their search Wednesday night. Elliott says the boy's clothes were strewn in the yard and that was their first indication that something was terribly wrong.
The sheriff says the medical examiner concluded four year old Brayton Roland was killed by a dog and died of blunt force trauma.
The sheriff says Roland's mother was in the shower and two other adults were home at the time. He says no one noticed the child go outside. The sheriff says when they realized he was gone, they went outside looking for him and calling his name and then called 911.
The sheriff says neighbors believe the boy may have been attacked by a reddish-blonde bull dog that was abandoned in the neighborhood. Yet the sheriff says no one witnessed the attack or heard it.
The sheriff says there were three dogs at Roland's house too. He says they were inspected and returned to the family.
The sheriff says Roland had just started pre-k.
The boy's father just arrived in town from out of state. Shayne Cason met with the sheriff this afternoon and broke down in tears as he left.
Funeral services are not yet set.
_________________________________________________
Donalsonville, Georgia- September 7, 2012--12:04pm
A missing four-year-old boy was found and deputies say he was killed by a dog.
Brayton Roland was reported missing Wednesday night. He was last seen at his home on Acorn Drive. At the time authorities were not sure if he wandered off or had been kidnapped. The AP reports he was later found dead in the high grass near his home.
We're hoping to speak with the sheriff any moment to see if they've been able to determine how this happened and if they've been able to track the dog or it's owner.
__________________________________________________
Donalsonville, Georgia- September 6, 2012 (AP)
A Georgia Bureau of Investigation agent says a young boy who had gone missing in Seminole County in southwest Georgia was killed in a dog attack.
Agent Steve Turner tells WALB-TV on Thursday that 4-year-old Brayton Roland died from blunt force trauma from a dog attack. Roland was found dead at his residence after a search for him.
Brayton was last seen around 9 p.m. Wednesday at his home on Acorn Drive. Sheriff's deputies searched for the boy Wednesday night and said at the time they weren't sure whether he wandered off or was taken.
Seminole County is in the far southwest corner of Georgia, about 60 miles southwest of Albany.
Authorities are declaring Roland's death as a homicide, and are still investigating who may be the dog's owner.
###
Information from: WALB-TV, http://www.walb.com/
___________________________________________________
Donalsonville, Georgia- September 6, 2012 (AP)
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation is looking into the death of a young boy who had gone missing in Seminole County in southwest Georgia.
Authorities tell WALB-TV that 4-year-old Brayton Roland was found dead at his residence after a search for him.
Brayton was last seen around 9 p.m. Wednesday at his home on Acorn Drive. Sheriff's deputies searched for the boy Wednesday night and said at the time they weren't sure whether he wandered off or was taken.
Few other details were available early Thursday.
Seminole County is in the far southwest corner of Georgia, about 60 miles southwest of Albany.
