Backpack floating in lake leads crew to missing 12-year-old’s body, Alabama cops say

Rescue teams in Alabama discovered the body of a missing 12-year-old boy after a witness called to report a child’s backpack floating near a dock.

Police in Eufaula said they responded to the report of the floating backpack in Walter F. George Reservoir at around 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday, March 22. Officers found family members of the missing child looking for him near the reservoir, widely known as Lake Eufaula, according to Eufaula Police Chief Steve Watkins.

Officers began assisting in the search and expanded the search area to include the water, Watkins said.

At around 7:20 p.m., rescue teams recovered the child’s body from the lake in the same area where the backpack was seen floating, he said.

Officials have ordered an autopsy, which is required in the death of any person under the age of 18, Watkins said. Investigators do not know how the child ended up in the water but are treating the case as an accidental drowning.

“We will have on average a couple of drownings a year, from boats capsizing, people slipping into the lake, non-swimmers that get into too deep of water,” Watkins said. “This is the youngest (victim) I can recall.”

Eufaula is located about 50 miles southwest of Columbus, Georgia.

This story was originally published March 23, 2022 at 12:57 PM with the headline "Backpack floating in lake leads crew to missing 12-year-old’s body, Alabama cops say."