ALLENTOWN, Pa. (AP) — A coroner says the body of a 5-year-old boy with autism has been found in a canal about a quarter mile from a residence in eastern Pennsylvania where he wandered away from a New Year's Eve party.
Lehigh County Coroner Scott Grim says an autopsy Monday will help determine when Jayliel Vega Batista entered the water at Canal Park in Allentown.
He had been missing since about 10:30 p.m. Thursday.
Police say the boy was playing with a tablet computer with other children when he reportedly wandered away barefoot and without a coat.
Search dogs tracked the boy's scent to the canal, where the tablet was found early Saturday afternoon. That prompted police to call in divers who found the boy's body about 8 feet from shore, in 6 feet of water.
