Boy's Body Mysteriously Appears in Pool

June 4 -- The body of boy who vanished during a Los Angeles pool party Sunday was found in the same pool early this morning, apparently placed there after officers last searched it, police said.

Deputy Police Chief David Kalish says a housekeeper at the large home in Holmby Hills saw the body of 7-year-old Paolo Ayala face up on the bottom at about 8:30 a.m. Firefighters pulled the boy out, but he was dead.

"At this time it appears that at some time during the evening or early morning hours somebody placed that body in the swimming pool," said Deputy Chief David Kalish. "There is no way that boy's body was there yesterday."

Ayala was last seen shortly before his parents arrived to pick him up at 5 p.m. Sunday, and police had conducted extensive searches. A $25,000 reward had been offered, and police were at the home until about 10 p.m. Monday.

Pool Was Searched Thoroughly

"This swimming pool was searched obviously throughout the day yesterday and through the night last night," said Kalish said.

Officers, volunteers and a bloodhound brought in from Riverside scoured the area without finding any sign of Ayala.

His father, Franklin Ayala, had said that his son might have left the birthday party on his own.

"He is very friendly," the father told reporters. "I was thinking he might go to the little park right next door."

The house where the party was did not have a backyard fence. The owners, who were not identified by police, were renovating and took down the fence to make way for a new one.

The cause of death has not been determined.

"We are in the very early stages of this investigation," said Kalish. "We have our detectives on scene. We called in additional resources, additional detectives. … We called in our Scientific Investigation Division. Those are the criminalists who will collect evidence. Obviously the coroner will be called to conduct an investigation.

"It is simply too soon to speculate [about the boy's death]," Kalish said. "Obviously, there are a number of different scenarios that may have occurred. We will look into everything and find out what happened."