A search for a missing 2-year-old Florida boy ended with the boy’s body being found, even though a mystery remains as to how he died.
Taylen Mosely was the subject of an Amber Alert on Thursday after his mother was found murdered in their apartment.
St. Petersburg police found the toddler’s body Friday in the mouth of an alligator, according to WINK-TV.
#stpetepd Chief Holloway said It’s with great sadness that we report we found the body of Taylen Mosley in Lake Maggiore. His father Thomas Mosley is charged with 2 counts of 1st degree murder. pic.twitter.com/I1hsIj0UAw
— St. Pete Police (@StPetePD) April 1, 2023
Searchers were looking in a lake when they “spotted an alligator with an object in its mouth,” St. Petersburg Police Chief Anthony Hollowaysaid, according to CBS.
“They fired one round to the alligator. The alligator dropped the object that he had in his mouth, and we were able to retrieve Taylen’s body intact,” Holloway said, according to WINK.
Missing toddler Taylen Mosley’s body found in alligator’s mouth; father charged, chief says https://t.co/l8OWRPwDzf
— NewsNation (@NewsNation) April 1, 2023
“We didn’t want to find him this way, but at least we can bring some closure to that family now,” Holloway said, according to NBC.
An autopsy will be conducted to determine how the child died, according to WTSP-TV.
Holloway said the child’s body was found 13 miles away from where he and his mother lived.
The tragedy of the boy’s death is part of a larger picture in which his father, Thomas Mosely, has been charged with first-degree murder in connection with the death of the child’s mother, Pashun Jeffery. WINK reported two counts of first-degree murder have been lodged against Thomas Mosley.
The boy and his mom were last seen alive at around 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday.
Police revealed that at about 8:30 p.m. on Wednesday, what neighbors described as a commotion was heard in the apartment where the boy and his mother lived.
At about 9 p.m. Wednesday, Thomas Mosley showed up at his mother’s home with cuts on his hands and arms, Holloway said. He went to St. Anthony’s Hospital in St. Petersburg for treatment and remains there.
“The father is a person of interest but nothing in our investigation, I want to repeat that — nothing in our investigation — leads us to believe that he is a victim,” Holloway had said on Thursday as police focused their efforts on finding the child.
At that time, Thomas Mosley was not speaking to the police.
Jeffery’s body was discovered Thursday afternoon after her mother was unable to reach her, according to WTVT-TV.
Holloway said Jeffrey had been stabbed to death and recalled the crime scene as “very violent.”
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.
