Missing 7-Year-Old Boy Found Dead in Texas State Park

Police tape in a stock photo. Carl Ballou/Shutterstock

A 7-year-old Texas boy who was reported missing was found dead at Corpus Christi State Park, according to sheriff’s officials.

The San Patricio County Sheriff’s Office confirmed that Beau Henderson’s body was recovered at the park.

“We are sadden[ed] to report that Beau Henderson has been discovered deceased. We appreciate the communities effort and support in helping with the search. Our most sincere condolences to the Henderson Family,” the office wrote on Facebook on April 14, without elaborating further.

According to KRIS-TV, Beau’s body was found in Catfish Cove at Lake Corpus Christi, and he appeared to have drowned.

Park officials closed down the state park to visitors, the report said.

The sheriff told the local station that weather didn’t factor into the boy’s death. They are not sure how the boy ended up in the cove.

Park officials have closed down the state park, the report said. Google Maps

An investigation is underway.

The sheriff’s office said that he went missing at the Corpus Christi State Park at approximately 12:20 p.m., reported KZTV. It added that he went missing from a park campsite.

Other details about the case are not clear.

Missing Children

There were 464,324 missing children reported in the FBI’s National Crime Information Center in 2017, according to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Under federal law, when a child is reported missing to law enforcement they must be entered into the database. In 2016, there were 465,676 entries.

“This number represents reports of missing children. That means if a child runs away multiple times in a year, each instance would be entered into NCIC separately and counted in the yearly total. Likewise, if an entry is withdrawn and amended or updated, that would also be reflected in the total,” the center noted.

Reve Walsh and John Walsh speak during The National Center For Missing And Exploited Children, the Fraternal Order of the Police and the Justice Department’s 16th Annual Congressional Breakfast at The Liaison Capitol Hill Hotel in Washington on May 18, 2011. Photo by Kris Connor/Getty Images

In 2017, the center said it assisted officers and families with the cases of more than 27,000 missing children. In those cases, 91 percent were endangered runaways, and 5 percent were family abductions.

About one in seven children reported missing to the center in 2017 were likely victims of child sex trafficking.

Body Found in California

The body of a father who went missing after he jumped into the San Joaquin River in an attempt to save his son was found.

Moua Lo, 41, had been missing since March 29, when he jumped out of a boat and into the river in an attempt to save his 1-year-old son who had fallen out. From Stockton, California, Lo had been out on the river fishing with his three children.

Authorities said his body was found on April 7, over a week later, by a fisherman. The coroner’s office confirmed that it was Lo, according to the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department.

Margaret Wollensak contributed to this report.