Preliminary autopsy notes have been released in connection with the death of Braylen Noble, a 3-year-old found deceased earlier this week in a Toledo apartment complex swimming pool.
The Lucas County Coroner’s Office reports that no obvious signs of trauma were found on the toddler’s body, according to CBS 11. The autopsy, however, isn’t fully complete and the cause of death has not yet been determined. Drowning has not been ruled out.
“The autopsy on Braylen Noble showed no anatomic cause of death and no gross evidence of trauma. Drowning has not yet been ruled out as a cause of death, but further studies and investigation are needed before the final ruling is issued,” the initial note from Dr. Cynthia S. Beisser said.
A toxicology test and a microscopic test are scheduled to be performed.
As CrimeOnline previously reported, authorities surrounded the pool area at the Hunter’s Ridge Apartment Complex in Toledo on Wednesday, while a Toledo Police Department spokesperson confirmed a child’s deceased body had been recovered from inside the pool.
Although the child has not been official identified, authorities are confident it’s Braylen, a non-verbal autistic boy who disappeared on September 4. Brayden’s mother, Dajnae Cox, said he fell from an apartment window located on the third floor at Hunter’s Ridge.
Braylen’s grandmother, Bobbie Johnson, who called 911 on Friday, told a dispatcher that three large windows in the apartment had been left open.
“We’ve been looking for him for over a good 30 minutes. He fell out this window,” Bobbie said. “I’m hoping he’s okay but we don’t know where he is. We walked the whole grounds.”
The apartment pool has been halfway drained for days, but authorities returned and focused most of their efforts there on Wednesday.
Lt. Kellie Lenhardt said that the area had already been searched numerous times without finding anything. On Friday, divers checked the pool and found nothing.
“It’s common practice in police investigations, once an area is searched, if nothing found, to go back and revisit that search area and see if anything was missed,” Lt. Kellie Lenhardt told ABC 13.
“But we do want to reiterate that the area was searched numerous times by Toledo Fire and Rescue, the FBI, private search groups, and both live and cadaver dogs.”
Shortly after police found the body, they took Cox to the downtown Toledo police precinct for questioning. She has not been arrested. No suspects have been named at this time.
Check back for updates.
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[Feature Photo: Braylen Noble/Handout]
