UPDATE: Non-Verbal Toddler With Special Needs Vanishes From His Bed In California

“It's an innocent baby that didn't know anything,” says one concerned search volunteer.

July 20, 2020

Missing toddler Thaddeus Sran [KFSN-TV]

Missing toddler Thaddeus Sran [KFSN-TV]

By: Aaron Rasmussen

UPDATE: 7/27/20

Police in California have arrested the parents of a non-verbal boy with special needs after a tip led to what are believed to be his burned remains in an almond orchard four miles from the family’s home.

Madera Police Chief Dino Lawson announced at a July 24 news conference that authorities charged Briseida Sran, 29, and Sukhjinder Sran, 42, with the murder of their 2-year-old son, Thaddeus, Fresno’s KFSN-TV reported.

“We will continue [to investigate] because it's an ongoing case, but I'm here before you to say that little Thaddeus will have some justice,” Lawson said.

On July 15, the Srans reported to police that Thaddeus had vanished from his bed sometime before 10 p.m. and 8:30 that morning.

However, the parents “stopped cooperating early on in the investigation,” police claimed in a recent statement.

Briseida, who is reportedly eight months pregnant, and Sukhjinder have three other children. All are now in the care of Child Protective Services, according to KFSN-TV.

The couple were also parents to an infant daughter who died in 2015. The case was investigated but remains open, Madera Police Lt. Josiah Arnold told NBC News.

ORIGINAL POST 7/20/20:

Authorities from multiple agencies are searching for a non-verbal child with special needs who recently vanished in the middle of the night from his home in Madera, California.

“We need your eyes, we need your ears,” Madera Police Chief Dino Lawson said at a July 15 press conference, according to People. “Please reach out to us and help us.”

The parents of 2-year-old Thaddeus Sran told police they put the toddler to bed at 10 p.m. on July 14, but they discovered him missing upon waking up at 8:30 the following morning. Law enforcement said the boy may have been abducted and could be in danger.

Thaddeus, who mostly crawls but is just learning to walk, was born prematurely and requires special medical care, which includes the use of a feeding tube, Fresno’s KFSN-TV reported.

Neighbors told the station that the Sran family had just moved into their home weeks before Thaddeus went missing, and concerned Madera County residents have tried to help find the little boy with community-organized searches.

“It's a baby. It's an innocent baby that didn't know anything, that doesn't know anything,” volunteer Jessica Gonzales told KFSN-TV.

She explained everyone is looking for any sign of Thaddeus, including “anything that is out of the ordinary, him, a shoe, a sock, a pair of clothes, a diaper.”

The approximately 2-foot, 30-pound Thaddeus was wearing a red shirt and Spider-Man pants over a diaper when he disappeared.

Family is now offering a reward of $5,000 for information leading to Thaddeus, and Chief Lawson has requested anyone with a tip in the case to contact the Madera Police Department at 559-675-4220.

“Whether you think it may be useful or not, you'll never know. Please call the police department and give us the information,” he said.

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