Search teams to go house to house looking for toddler missing for over 2 days
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UPDATE: Body of missing 2-year-old found in drained Eagle pond. ‘Crews spent all night’ searching
EAGLE — Investigators plan to go door to door in the search for a 2-year-old boy who disappeared Wednesday from an Eagle home.
The announcement comes after law enforcement says efforts to find Rory Pope in nearby bodies of water have yielded no results. The door to door search will be voluntary as investigators hope the child might be playing a big game of hide-and-seek.
“One of our biggest goals is to bring Rory home safe,” Eagle Police Chief Matt Clifford said in a news conference Friday morning. “He is described as an energetic young man. He’s curious about the world and has a little bit of history playing hide-and-seek with his parents.”
Rory’s family discovered him missing shortly before noon Wednesday when they turned away for “just moments” while packing to return home from out of state, Clifford said. He did not specify what state Rory is from.
The family is fully cooperating with police and assisting to find the missing toddler.
“We’ve had an extensive search with law enforcement in just about every form we have,” Clifford said. “The neighborhood has pulled together and done a very extensive search with literally hundreds of people.”
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Police are asking everyone to search their own homes and property in the area for a place where Rory could be hiding. They also want folks to check their surveillance footage from Sept. 2 between 11:30 a.m. and 12:20 p.m. for anything that may point to the boy’s location.
“We are working every tip tirelessly night and day,” Clifford said. “I think it’s important to bring up that sometimes people are reluctant to call in and give their information.”
Earlier in the search, an Ada County Sheriff’s Office K9 led investigators to one of the many ponds in the neighborhood. Search teams, including a world-renowned expert in water searches and recoveries, assisted divers with a sonar device.
“However, Rory had been back there very recently,” Clifford said. “We have to take that into account.”
A canal system also runs in the area, flowing into neighboring Canyon County, prompting assistance from additional counties to search their bodies of water.
Crews also plan to drain the pond nearby the home belonging to Rory’s grandparents.
At this point, investigators say they have no evidence of foul play and the criteria for an Amber Alert has not been met. In order for an Amber Alert to be issued, police must know a child has been abducted and know the abductee or a vehicle used.
“We kind of have a dual investigation … another investigation that’s been going in case water is not the instance here,” Clifford said.
Rory has blond curly hair and was wearing a green shirt the morning he disappeared. Anyone with information about Rory’s disappearance or whereabouts is asked to contact the Eagle Police Department at (208) 938-2260.