TAMPA, Fla. – A Tampa toddler who was reported missing on Tuesday morning after last being seen at 11 p.m. on Monday has been safely located.
The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office said 23-month-old Jaylen Johnson was located by another resident who lives nearby at 56th Street and Slight Avenue on Monday morning.
What we know:
According to the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office, Jaylen’s parents put him to bed around 11 p.m. on Monday.
When they woke up on Tuesday morning, investigators said the parents discovered he was missing and frantically called 911 around 6:40 a.m.
“The parents were frantic,” Chief Deputy Joseph Maurer said. “They last saw him at 11 o’clock at night when they put him down to bed.”
READ: Pasco County family still searching for answers in a 2015 missing woman case
Immediately, HCSO says 200 members of its agency, including K-9s and bloodhounds descended on the apartment complex in the 6900 block of Silver Run Drive in Tampa where he was last seen.
Courtesy: Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office
“This child’s safety and well-being were our utmost priority from the moment we received the call,” said Sheriff Chad Chronister. “We spared no resources in our efforts, from patrol deputies and the dive team to our Aviation Unit, K-9 teams, drone operators, and cadets. We are thankful this search has a happy ending and that Jaylen is safe.”
HCSO put out a missing child alert Tuesday morning and announced that Jaylen was found by a resident who lives nearby.
“To have a neighbor find a 23-month-old walking the streets. I don’t know the details yet,” shared Maurer. “We’re working on that. And he takes him in and keeps him safe until he can get to us to give him back to so we can recover.”
Dig deeper:
HCSO said that while the details aren’t clear, detectives learned that Jaylen left his apartment with the family’s red-nosed pit bull.
“The pit bull goes side by side with young Jaylen, so I like to think that the pit bull was keeping watch over young Jaylen,” Maurer explained. “We recovered both Jaylen and the pit bull.”
Courtesy: Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office
What they’re saying:
“They said the dog protected the baby the whole time,” Jaylen’s mom, Nicole Brown, said. “She did what she was supposed to do.”
Jaylen’s parents are still shaken up, but they hope this serves as a learning experience for other families.
“Now, I know to make sure that he’s put away safely and the chain is always on the door, and we’re taking extra precautions, and I’m changing all the locks and stuff on the doors where he’s not able to open them,” Jaylen’s dad, Stephon Johnson said.
What we don’t know:
Deputies are still investigating what happened during the hours that Jaylen was missing. It is unclear how the resident came to find Jaylen.
It is also unclear how the toddler got out of the house.
What’s next:
Jaylen will be checked out by Hillsborough County Fire Rescue, but he doesn’t appear to be injured.
The Source: This article was written with information provided by the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office.