Distressing cause of death revealed for autistic boy, 5, who vanished from his rural Oregon home

The autistic five-year-old boy who disappeared from his home in rural Oregon just days before he was found dead in the woods died of hypothermia, according to police.

Joshua McCoy was reported missing on Nov. 9 after his mother, Angela German, couldn’t find him after waking up from a nap at 5:30 p.m.

After a three-day search, his naked body was found in the coastal forest of Coos County, less than two miles from his home in Hauser.

On Friday, Coos County sheriff’s officials announced that the young child died of hypothermia – a significant drop in body temperature that typically occurs when exposed to the cold for long periods of time.

News of his cause of death comes about a week after police revealed they believe the five-year-old may have been murdered.

Investigators found that his bare feet showed no marks that would have been present if he had walked to the wooded area himself, leading police to believe something sinister was going on. People signed up.

In addition, the new search warrant affidavit, filed about two weeks ago in Coos County, stated that the child’s body – which was found about twenty feet from a local road – showed no signs of trauma, no petechiae and no scratches or cuts that would correspond to Joshua walking through the thorn bushes or brambles.’

The affidavit also highlighted that there were tire tracks in the mud near where his body was found, as well as on his mother’s car tires.

Joshua was reported missing by his mother’s friend who lives in Utah after she called her instead of the police. KEZI 9 reported.

Her reason for calling a friend instead of law enforcement is said to be due to a bad past experience with the department.

German told police more than three weeks ago that she woke up after a four-hour nap to find her nonverbal son missing from their home.

The report prompted a three-day search and rescue effort as local and federal authorities worked to locate him.

Authorities then announced on November 12 that his remains were located in the Coos County coastal forest.

The new affidavit outlined the fact that German’s story changed several times about how long she had been asleep. She eventually told authorities she was taking barbiturates and ketamine to help her sleep.

During the investigation, authorities said Joshua had a cell phone with him, but a ping from the device “did not yield any fruitful information.”

His phone did find evidence “that led investigators to reasonably believe Joshua had run away from the home while Mrs. German was sleeping.” KOIN reported.

The department added that despite finding that data, “there are still laboratory results that have not been received” and that the evidence currently “points to these articulable facts.”

Lawson Amos McCoy, Joshua’s father, demanded answers after speaking to Oregon Live last month, shortly after his son’s body was found.

“I want the truth, plain and simple,” he said. ‘The rest doesn’t interest me. My baby is gone.”

The 47-year-old father met German when they both lived in Utah before deciding to buy a house together and have a baby.

The pair moved to Coos Bay into a house on a remote stretch of road next to a large pond after German got a job at a local hospital as a nurse, Oregon Live reported.

While she worked at the hospital, McCoy — who received disability benefits from his service in the U.S. Air Force — cared for their son as a stay-at-home dad.

“I took care of him, bathed him and fed him,” he told the newspaper. “I mean, I knew his favorite food. I knew his favorite colors. I can’t believe this happened.’

But McCoy hasn’t seen his son since he left Oregon – and is convinced that if he hadn’t left, his son would still be alive.

“He thinks it’s all his fault just because he left JJ,” Joshua McCoy, McCoy’s brother, told the newspaper.

McCoy’s brother also founded one GoFundMe last month to help Joshua’s father pay for funeral expenses – which he wanted buried back in Ohio next to his great-grandfather and great-grandmother. – as well as therapy for the family members.

Some of the money is also expected to go toward therapy for family members and hiring a private investigator to investigate the young boy’s death.

The new warrant was intended to search German’s home and seize her Porsche for forensic examination, as well as search Joshua’s cell phone that was found near his body when he was discovered, KEZI 9 reported.

McCoy noted that he has not had any contact with Germany since the horrific outcome — and is still leaving Oregon.

After announcing Joshua’s cause of death, the Coos County Sheriff’s Office said the investigation is ongoing and the department is mourning the young boy.

“The Coos County Sheriff’s Office mourns Joshua. “As members of this community sworn to protect, the Coos County Sheriff’s Office has spared no effort and exhausted all available measures to find Joshua,” the department said.

“It is as important for investigators to prove the innocence of the parties involved as it is to prove guilt.”

The state’s Department of Human Services is also investigating how Joshua was treated by his mother at home.

Court records showed that the department recently issued a “collection order” after an initial several-month investigation into Germany’s alleged alcohol use, neglect and abuse of her son, KEZI 9 reported.

No one is currently in custody and facing charges.

No suspects have been named in the case.