A 2-year-old boy was put to bed in Virginia but was nowhere to be found in the morning, police say.
Noah Tomlin was last seen about 1 a.m. Monday, in bed in his mobile home in the Buckroe Beach area of Hampton, Virginia, Hampton Police Chief Terry Sult said. His mother reported him missing at 11:36 a.m.
Police conducted multiple searches, Sult said, but could not find the boy. The Virginia Department of Emergency Management Search Team, the State Police and the FBI have been called in to assist in the investigation. The case is being investigated jointly by the FBI and Hampton police, according to the FBI.
“We’re turning over every stone,” Sult said. “We’re going to do everything we can do to bring this child home safely.”
The search, which he described as intensive, has been done on land, sea and air, Sult said Wednesday. He added that they have searched by foot and with drones and sonar.
“We have looked on land, water; we have checked trash Dumpsters; we have checked neighborhoods, houses, underneath buildings, in sheds; we actually covered the area multiple times with different teams so we would have different eyes checking the same locations repeatedly,” Sult said.
No explanation is being ruled out, Sult said, including the chance that he walked away and the possibility of foul play.
“We are still hopeful that Noah will be found safely, without harm, and brought back home,” Sult said.
“The longer we go on, the more concerned we are for that child’s safety, particularly if that child is alone. A 2-year-old cannot care for itself. That’s why this is so pressing. That’s why there are so many resources involved in this.”
There are no charges against the boy’s parents, who have been cooperating with police, CNN affiliate WTKR reported. Sult said Wednesday that the mother is “holding up as well as you could expect under the circumstances.”
Noah went to bed wearing a white and green striped pajama shirt and a diaper.
The search for him went through Tuesday evening, and police said they will shift their focus to specific areas of the city when they feel confident that they’ve “exhausted all reasonable efforts and reasonable resources” in the location they are in, the station said.
On Wednesday, they were focused on the landfill. “There’s no specific information that has led us to the landfill, but in past experience, we have found that we often have to search these areas,” Sult said.
Police ask anyone with information to call Hampton Police at (757) 727-6111. Sult specifically noted that they would like any video or pictures taken in the area where the toddler disappeared between 1 a.m. Monday and today.
We are “literally contacting anyone and everyone who might have come into contact with the child.”
“This is weighing heavy on the officers’ hearts and minds that are searching, and we are hoping for a positive resolution,” Hampton Police Sgt. Reginald Williams said.
