Toddler crawls out of bed and escapes home. He was found dead 12 hours later, cops say

A 2-year-old boy was found dead 12 hours after it was discovered that he escaped his home in the middle of the night, Oklahoma officials say.

Ares Muse was reported to have left the Okemah home between 1:30 a.m. and 6:30 a.m. on Monday, Sept. 12. Okemah is about 70 miles east of Oklahoma City.

The boy’s father said Ares crawled into bed with his parents, but when they woke up they found he was not there, KOTV reported.

Jason Salsman, a spokesperson for the Muscogee Nation, said Ares unlocked three locking mechanisms before exiting the home.

More than 20 agencies were involved in the search for Ares, whose body was found around 6 p.m. more than a half mile from the residence, according to KTUL.

“We talked all day long about wanting a good outcome, and we didn’t get that,” Salsman said in a news briefing. “It’s unfortunate, but that doesn’t take away from the effort and from how we need to be there in our hearts and minds for this family.”

It’s unclear how Ares died. Law enforcement officials are conducting an investigation, and Salsman said the family was cooperating with officials.

Trooper Eric Foster with the Oklahoma Highway Patrol said tribal, state, federal and local agencies were involved in the search, along with first responders. The boy’s home was on tribal land.

“We hate to be able to give news like this, it’s very unfortunate. But we do come together,” Foster said. “And we had a lot of citizens reach out as well wanting to help, and that’s just Oklahoma and we are proud to be a part of that.”

This story was originally published September 13, 2022 at 6:14 AM with the headline "Toddler crawls out of bed and escapes home. He was found dead 12 hours later, cops say."