The body of an 8-year-old boy missing for more than a day was recovered Saturday in Far North Dallas, police say.
The Dallas County Medical Examiner's Office identified Keydall Jones Saturday afternoon.
Jones, who has autism and is nonverbal, had last been seen in the 13600 block of Montfort Drive Friday morning. His family said he broke away as they were trying to get him into the car for school around 7 a.m. Friday.
His aunt said she never thought their search would end in tragedy.
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"That's what we were believing, that our faith and our hope - that we were going to find him," Athena Jefferson, Jones' aunt, said.
"We loved him. We're just hurting right now," Jonnathon Jefferson, Jones' uncle said.
The community spent hours scouring the area.
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Among them was neighbor, David Daniels, who helped find Jones a few times when he ran off before.
"Me and my girlfriend helped search yesterday for a few hours or whatnot. I was hoping that someone had just brought him home, hoping he was good. We didn't think this was going to happen," Daniels said.
Jones' body was found in an apartment complex pool on Montfort Drive around 8 a.m. Sunday, and Dallas Fire-Rescue responded to recover the body, police said.
Dallas police did not release the name of the person who died, but the Dallas County Medical Examiner's office identified Jones later Saturday. Athena Jefferson also said it was her nephew Jones' body that was found in the pool.
