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.