Officers Return To David Puckett Search Area To Say Goodbye
AURORA, Colo. (CBS4) – Authorities in Aurora say the body found in an icy pond on Tuesday is that of six-year-old David Puckett.
Shortly after receiving the confirmation dozens of officers would return to the search area simply to say goodbye.
Aurora police Chief Nick Metz was among them.
"How do you not become emotionally involved when it involves a child," he said.
Less than 24 hours earlier Metz and more than 100 officers from multiple agencies were on the ground. With time ticking away and cold temperatures closing in they were desperate to find the young boy and bring him home safe.
"You meet a family and you can see the distress on their face, their faces, the worry in their voices and they are looking at you to solve it and looking at you to make everything better," Metz said.
After four days of working closely with the family and the community finding David would become more than a job to those search teams.
"I heard so many officers saying if the family is not going to sleep were not going to sleep, we're going to do everything to find this little guy," he said.
Despite that commitment and their tireless work, Chief Metz, on Tuesday morning would have the difficult task of informing the public and the family that a child's body had been pulled form a frozen pond in the park. That body now positively identified as David Puckett.
"You're delivering a message that's forever going to change their life," Metz said.
While the decision by officer to return to the scene Wednesday morning may have been about showing support for David's family
Chief Mets says it was also about healing.
"I think it was just as important to us as it was for the family," he said.
The Aurora Police Department tweeted information about the only official donation site for the Puckett family on Wednesday afternoon, shortly after an Amber Alert for David was canceled.
The only authorized donation method is:
The David Puckett Memorial Fund
Space Age Federal Credit Union
Account Number 84527
3005 South Parker Road #C-300
Aurora, CO 80014
Karen Morfitt Joined the CBS4 team as a reporter in 2013. She covers a variety of stories in and around metro Denver. Connect with her on Facebook, follow her on Twitter @karenmorfitt or email her tips.
