CINCINNATI — It’s been 24 days since someone last saw 3-year-old Nylo Lattimore.
Search crews assembled Sunday at Shawnee Lookout for mission number three, hoping to find a sign pointing them closer to the missing toddler.
Horses, boats, sonar, K-9 units, land hikers — searchers are using every possible tool while covering 108 miles of land and 21 miles of shoreline.
Tracy Campbell is an organizer from North Star International, a search-and-rescue organization out of Indiana that has been involved in the search for Nylo since day one.
“The family deserves something. Everybody out here pretty much has children of their own and the hurt that they are going through of the not knowing is unimaginable,” Campbell said.
Police suspect foul play was involved in Nylo’s disappearance, which is why Campbell said it’s important to have experienced searchers.
“A lot of these people are retired police officers, detectives, fire fighters, EMS, first responders. They know how to preserve evidence. We appreciate all of the help from civilians,” Campbell said. “We understand how they want to get involved. We are very thankful for it, but at the risk we don’t want to take the chance of them disturbing something. It just could cause more harm than good.”
A stroller that Nylo’s family said the toddler used was found near the Purple People Bridge on Dec. 12. During last weekend’s search, Campbell said searchers discovered new items that are being tested for his DNA.
“Items were recovered. They were turned over to the Cincinnati Homicide Division for further processing; also there was some SONAR hits, and I believe that the Hamilton County Police Association and Boone County will be investigating those further,” Campbell said.
John Adams, chief of Ohio Land Search and Rescue, said tracking search crews with GPS technology is critical.
“It helps us cover the areas that he can map off,” Adams said. “Say for example if we want to search this area here, he could square this grid off here and then we can put searchers, or drones or anything, in this area. Each team member has a GPS on them and it tells us where they are at and what they searched. If they missed anything we could always go back to that same area to cover it.”
Police found the body of Nylo’s mother, Nyteisha Lattimore, near Yeatman’s Cove in the early morning hours of Dec. 12. Her boyfriend, 20-year-old Desean Brown, is currently being held at the Hamilton County Detention Center, charged with her murder.
On Christmas, a memorial was set up near the Purple People Bridge for Lattimore and her missing son.
Cincinnati’s Homicide Unit is investigating Lattimore’s death. Anyone with information is asked to call 513-765-1212.
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