Elections Today
- Maryland
- Nebraska
- West Virginia
Recent Projections
| State | Candidate | Delegates |
|---|---|---|
 Donald Trump | ||
Nebraska |  Joe Biden |
Child's Body Recovered from New Mexico Well
Authorities believe 4-year-old Samuel Jones fell into the 30-foot hole.
March 5, 2012 — -- The body of 4-year-old New Mexico boy Samuel Jones was recovered from the bottom of a narrow 30-foot well today.
"They did recover the boy, just a short time ago," Carlsbad Fire Department Battalion Chief Ron Steven told ABCNews.com.
The Carlsbad Police Department confirmed to ABC News' Albuquerque affiliate KOAT that Jones was dead.
A number of rescue teams including police, firefighters, construction workers and mining crews worked through Sunday and into this morning to reach the boy. The teams had to dig into the hole at a slanted angle in order to avoid a collapse. They reached him at about 7 a.m. MT.
"They dug a huge hole surrounding a small diameter hole he fell into to access him," Steven said. "There was some hand digging at the last little bit."
Authorities believe the young boy fell down the 30-foot hole that has a diameter of only 14 inches.
Jones' body was put into an ambulance and taken away from the site.
On Sunday, the Carlsbad Fire Department said they determined that the conditions of the fall would not be survivable due to low temperatures and a lack of oxygen at the bottom of the hole.
The boy disappeared from his home Saturday afternoon where he was last seen playing in the yard with some young cousins. It was originally believed that he had been abducted.
An Amber Alert issued for Jones was canceled on Sunday after the discovery of a hole on a property next door to his house.
A detective shined a light into the hole and saw what appeared to be a body. A camera that was sent down showed clothing that appeared to match what Jones was last seen wearing, according to KOAT.
Police are treating the case as a homicide as a precaution, but have said there is no indication of foul play or history of child abuse in the family, according to the Associated Press. An official cause of death has not yet been determined.
"This is hard on everyone. It breaks my heart that the little boy down there," heavy equipment operator Paul Kartscner told KOAT.
Trending Reader Picks
ABC News Live