Boys found dead in car boot after days of frantic search

AS their parents frantically searched for them, three small boys were tucked quietly in the boot of a car, where any noise they may have made was muffled by insulation or drowned out by the sound of driving rain.

For two tortured days after the boys disappeared, dozens of officials searched their Camden neighbourhood - checking in backyard sheds and abandoned houses and beneath manhole covers. Volunteers passed out thousands of fliers. A bloodhound tracked odours to the nearby Delaware River. Helicopters buzzed constantly overhead. Divers explored some small ponds and rescue boats patrolled the river’s banks.

But it was finally chance that led to the grisly discovery Friday, just before thousands of Camden residents were to gather for a vigil for the missing children.

An uncle of one of the boys wanted to look in the boot of the car because he was searching for a set of jumper cables. Daniel’s father, David Agosto, accompanied him, the prosecutor said, because “the thought may have crossed his mind that the boys may have been in that trunk.”

In a scene captured by television news crews, David Agosto lifted the trunk of the inoperable Toyota Camry and broke down in tears, throwing himself against a car. He was later taken away on a stretcher by paramedics, crying and flailing his arms and legs.

Authorities said the boys had suffocated after climbing into the boot on their own. No foul play was involved, said Camden County prosecutor Vincent P. Sarubbi.

Police had looked through the car when the children were first reported missing, and it was not clear why the trunk was not searched then. Mr Sarubbi said police and prosecutors will issue a report on the handling of the search within 30 days.

Death certificates did not give a time of death for Jesstin Pagan, aged 5, Anibal Cruz, aged 11, and Daniel Agosto, aged 6.

Officials said a full autopsy report may include an estimate.