Crews try to reach child's body in hole
CARLSBAD, N.M. — Crews are digging a second hole to reach the body of a child wedged in a narrow 30-foot hole in the backyard of a southern New Mexico home.
Carlsbad police said they are fairly sure it's the body of 4-year-old Samuel Jones, who was reported missing from his home next door on Saturday.
An Amber Alert in effect for him was canceled Sunday night.
“We have reports of one missing child, and this child is right next door to the missing child's house,” Carlsbad police spokeswoman Lt. Jennifer Moyers said, adding that authorities cannot be positive the body is Samuel's until it's recovered.
Recovery efforts began Sunday afternoon, with a large tracked excavator along with metal shoring typically used in pipeline construction projects. A specialized search and rescue team from Roswell went Carlsbad to oversee the operations.
“It's a little tricky in that you have to start to dig kind of away from the hole and dig at a slant until you get down deep enough to go laterally,” Moyers said. “They're going to have to put in retaining so that the dirt doesn't cave in on what they've dug out.”