Missing 2-Year-Old Denton Boy Sarbesh Gurung Found Dead Inside Vehicle
Correction: Denton police initially said the vehicle Sarbesh was found in belonged to a family member. They later sent a statement saying that information was incorrect and that the vehicle actually belonged to a neighbor.
DENTON (CBSDFW.COM) - Police in Denton had been searching for a missing 2-year-old for more than 15 hours when a horrible discovery was made.
It was around 6:30 a.m. Wednesday when officers found little Sarbesh Gurung in the back of an SUV at the apartment complex where he lived with his family.
At a morning news conference Denton Police Department Chief Frank Dixon said, "We stand here this morning heartbroken and it is with my deepest sorrow that I let you all know that we did locate Sarbesh this morning, just shortly after six o'clock. He was found in a vehicle and he was found deceased."
The Chief said the SUV, which had dark window tinting and a sunshade up, was parked not far from the Gurung home and that it was owned by a neighbor. The owner of the vehicle found the child as they were getting into it Wednesday morning.
"That family is completely shocked and devastated themselves," the Chief said.
Sarbesh's mother told police that she had put her son down for a nap and when she went to check on him around 2:00 p.m. the child was gone. The woman said she frantically searched for Sarbesh for about four minutes before calling 911.
"The family is just devastated," Chief Dixon said. "The mother is being treated right now for some… undetermined medical condition. She had a panic attack when she was notified."
In addition to police and volunteers, K-9 officers, drones, and a helicopter were all used to search a five block radius around the 2400 block of West Prairie Street, near the University of North Texas campus.
In all, more than 200 people turned out to help with the search.
Police were in the area Tuesday morning, searching dumpsters, manholes, and going door-to-door when the child was found.
The Chief said the toddler had no obvious signs of trauma to his body and an autopsy would be performed at the Tarrant County Medical Examiner's Office.
Chief Dixon said, "We have nothing leading us to believe that this was an intentional act of homicide. We're going to continue to process the scene. We're going to wait for the medical examiner to make his or her determination on the cause and manner of death and we're gonna go where the evidence takes us."
An Amber Alert was never issued for the little boy because there was no evidence of an abduction or that foul play was involved.