Boy's identity baffles officials.

Byline: LARRY BACON The Register-Guard

WALDPORT - Investigators still don't know the identity of a young boy found floating in Alsea Bay and know of no missing children reported in the area.

They also found no outward sign of trauma that would have caused the boy's death, said Lt. Ed Stallard of the Lincoln County sheriff's office. An autopsy was to be conducted Thursday, but authorities didn't release the results immediately.

"We don't believe he was in the water long - maybe eight to 10 hours," Stallard said.

What's most suspicious about the death is that no one has reported the boy missing in Lincoln County, he said.

"In fact, we've had nothing from any agency in Oregon that matches his description," Stallard said.

A check of the Oregon State Police missing children's database and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children also turned up no leads. A sheriff's office statement said the boy may be from out of the area.

A passer-by found his body about 11 a.m. Tuesday in a small inlet of Lint Slough at the east edge of Waldport. Sheriff's officials said he was 4 to 6 years old, white, about 50 pounds with light brown hair and brown eyes.

Investigators have no idea how the child got in the water. Stallard declined to say what the boy was wearing or even whether he had any clothes on.

About a dozen investigators have been assigned to the case from the Lincoln County Major Crime Team, which has members from all the county's law enforcement agencies. They have made inquiries with police agencies throughout the West about missing children.

It's a stressful case for officers because such a young child is involved, Stallard said. "A lot of people working this case have children," he said, "and I can imagine what they are feeling."

The death also has shocked many community members.

"It's very, very disturbing and of great concern," the Rev. Jim Howe of the Community Presbyterian Church said. "We're all praying and waiting to see what is found out."

The boy's death is especially difficult for the town to handle at Christmastime when people work hard to make the season special for children, he said.

"It's on people's minds," said Donna Lewis, who heads the local Food Share program and has three children and two grandchildren of her own.

"I'd be out there beating the bushes if my child was missing," she said.

TO HELP

The Lincoln County sheriff's office plans to release a drawing of the boy's face soon. Authorities ask anyone with information to call Detective Trish Custard at [phone].