A search for a missing New Mexico boy led authorities to a deep, narrow hole in a neighbor's backyard where a child's body was located Sunday, news sources report.
Authorities believe the child is 4-year-old Samuel Jones, who went missing Saturday. A detective searching for the boy Sunday morning spotted the body when he shined a light into the neighbor's well, according to CNN.
Carlsbad, New Mexico Police Chief Daniel Fierro told a CNN affiliate that rescuers initially began with rescue procedures, but found that the conditions inside the hole were not survivable. Measurements of oxygen and temperature were taken, and the body showed no signs of life.
Because of the location of the body, police believe it is the body of Samuel Jones, but this identity can't be confirmed until the body can be retrieved from the hole.
"We have reports of one missing child, and this child is right next door to the missing child's house," Carlsbad, New Mexico police spokeswoman Lt. Jennifer Moyers told the Associated Press.
It could take a day for mining crews to reach the body safely, state police told CNN.
"It's a little tricky in that you have to start to dig kind of away from the hole and dig at a slant until you get down deep enough to go laterally," Moyers told the Associated Press. "They're going to have to put in retaining so that the dirt doesn't cave in on what they've dug out."
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