Mason Newstead. | Putnam County Sheriff's Office
Published on March 22, 2024 at 11:00 am
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A 4-year-old boy was found dead in the St. Johns River late Thursday after a five-hour search involving law enforcement from around Putnam County.
Mason Newstead, a child with special needs, was found dead about 5:20 p.m. near docks on the river, a block from his home on Front Street in Welaka.
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Mason was last seen leaving his home about five hours earlier, Sheriff’s Office Col. Joseph Wells said. Bloodhounds, marine units, a dive team and multiple deputies searched for him on land and in the river, Wells said.
“It’s been a multiagency investigation,” Wells said. “We have received calls from even more agencies, even federal agencies offering assistance, so its been an outpouring from not only the community that’s been out here all along, offering food, dropping off water, to all of our partner law enforcement agencies.”
Welaka Mayor Jamie Watts said the child’s death has hit the small riverfront town hard.
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“We just want to keep everybody in our prayers right now,” Watts told reporters. “The community is very small; very close-knit, and everybody’s hurting, not as much as the family obviously, but everybody is hurting and we just ask them to give them some space. But the community comes together to pray, and we ask you to continue to keep them in your prayers.”
Wells said that investigators have security camera footage showing the boy heading toward the river shortly after he went missing. He added that the child may have ended up in the river before his absence was reported.
Wells said there is no indication of neglect or criminal activity in the child’s death. An investigation continues.
Victim services counselors are working with the family. The Sheriff’s Office said it will continue to provide the services they need.
Along with the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office, deputies from Clay, Flagler and St. Johns counties were involved in Thursday’s search, along with Putnam County Fire Rescue and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
