Missing boy found dead in pond
COLONY, MO. -- The Missouri State Highway Patrol confirmed that the body of 6-year-old Christin Baucom was found in a pond Wednesday afternoon.
Lt. Nelson Elfrink of the Missouri State Highway Patrol said that a Jefferson City dive team found Baucom's body about 12:30 p.m.
The child was a member of a Mennonite community. He was one of two foster children belonging to four single women who had never been married. The children were from a troubled home, according a member of the Mennonite community who refused to speak on camera because their faith forbids it.
The four women who fostered the children came over to a sister's house on State Route K for lunch Tuesday. The child managed to sneak away and was found more than 200 yards away from the Route K home.
The daylong search encompassed land surrounding the the home. Volunteers searched on horsebacksdf, all-terrain vehicles and on foot. An airplane also canvased the area.
More than 75 hopeful volunteers assisted throughout the day including citizens and officials from the Knox County Sheriff's Department and the Missouri Highway Patrol.
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An advisory was issued Tuesday afternoon for Christin Baucom, who had autism, shortly before 1 p.m. Tuesday.
Danielle Bair, a substitute teacher who had Baucom in her class, said she could easily see the boy hiding somewhere.
"I think this shows the true community that we live in," Bair said. "The heart of everybody, that when someone needs something, we're all going to come together. We're going to do what it takes to find him, and we're not going to stop searching until he's found."
Christin's twin brother drowned near the family's home last August when he wandered away, the MHP confirmed Wednesday.
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