NEWS

Sheriff: Jerold Joseph Williams, 5, likely died of exposure near Jacob Lake

Emily L. Mahoney
The Republic| azcentral.com
Jerold Joseph Williams

Preliminary autopsy findings show a 5-year-old Colorado City boy died of environmental exposure and likely didn't survive the first night after he went missing, according to Coconino County Sheriff's Office.

Jerold Joseph Williams was first reported missing Thursday after he wandered from his family's campground north of the Grand Canyon while chasing grasshoppers, officials said.

Volunteer searchers driving along Forest Service Road 240 spotted the boy's body about 15 to 20 feet into the woods around 4:30 p.m. Monday. The Coconino County Medical Examiner's Office performed an autopsy Tuesday.

Sheriff's officials said Jerold's body was located about 3.7 miles point-to-point from his family's campsite. The boy had been among 20 people at a campsite approximately 12 miles south of Jacob Lake in Kaibab National Forest.

Because the thick forest brush would have been difficult for the small boy to navigate, it's likely Jerold found his way to Forest Road 240 and followed it to Forest Road 241 in the direction away from his camp site, according to Gerry Blair, a Sheriff's Office spokesman.

It appeared that he lay down to rest in the forest and never awoke, Blair said. The body was found fully clothed with no obvious injuries and no evidence of foul play.

Blair said the boy was found outside the search team's area of "main focus": a 2.1-mile radius from the point where Jerold was last seen that covered about 21 square miles. This focus area is determined based on many factors, including the missing person's profile and mathematical models, Blair said.

The search spanned four nights and five days and involved about 1,000 people, many of whom were volunteers from Jerold's hometown, officials said.

Heavy rains throughout the weekend limited the ability of searchers on the ground and in the air with low visibility and mud hindering search efforts. On Monday, some volunteers walked shoulder-to-shoulder through thick vegetation in heavy rain in hopes of finding clues.

Other searchers included U.S. Forestry Service fire crews, deputies from multiple sheriff's departments, state troopers and two helicopters from Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada. Federal agencies also became involved in the search, with the Bureau of Land Management providing personnel and dog teams, and a team of nine Air Force pararescuers utilized night vision and infrared technology to search for the boy after dark.

Crews conduct a line search while looking for missing 5-year-old Jerold Joseph Williams in northern Arizona on Saturday, Aug. 8, 2015. Williams has been missing since Thursday.