04/08/2003

Associated Press

MEDFORD, Ore. - The body of a missing 5-year-old boy was discovered about 20 feet down a steep embankment, his dog sitting faithfully by his side.

Connor Sutherland of Grants Pass was last seen in his family’s front yard on Sunday. Police think he wandered away with the dog, Lobo, a St. Bernard/Great Dane mix. The embankment is located off a logging road, about a half-mile from the family home.

Connor’s shirt and blue jeans were on, but his tennis shoes were missing. There were no initial signs of foul play, but detectives had yet to rule whether the death was accidental, said Lt. Brian Anderson of the Josephine County Sheriff’s Office.

“We kept holding out hope because the dog didn’t go home, and we figured the dog would probably stay with him,” Anderson said. “He stayed there the whole time.

“This just hits you in the pit of the stomach.”

Family members had noticed him missing about 1 p.m. Sunday.

Search crews combed the area Sunday night and early Monday, as temperatures dipped to 40 degrees.

About 100 searchers, a third of whom were local volunteers, fanned across the Summit Loop area just west of Grants Pass. The search was aided by Lane County search-dog teams as well as Jackson County Search and Rescue officials and teams of searchers on horseback.

The Oregon Air National Guard sent a helicopter to sweep the area.

A Grants Pass couple found the body at 10:30 a.m. After the discovery, some crews began searching back toward the family’s house for Connor’s missing tennis shoes, Anderson said.

A stress debriefing was held Monday night for searchers, some of whom remain shocked at the outcome, Anderson said.

“It’s obviously not something you want out of a search,” Anderson said. “You want to find people and get them home to their families. This is pretty bad.”