UPDATE:

On 9/18/2023, 17-month-old DeAngelo Manning was found deceased in a cutover near Winkler Road, in Claiborne Parish.  Over the past four months, the evidence collected by Claiborne Parish Sheriff’s Office detectives, and agents from the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries has undergone thorough analysis at the Maples Center for Forensic Testing, located at the University of Florida, in Gainesville.  The lab and their personnel specialize in DNA testing, particularly in the field of animal identification.

In a preliminary report received by Claiborne Parish Sheriff’s Office, on Jan. 22, the findings of the lab were that the mauling death of the child was committed by a domesticated canine, as opposed to any type of wild dog species, or any other wild animal native to the area, such as a hog.

ORIGINAL STORY:

On Monday, September 18, 2023, Claiborne Parish Sheriff’s Office personnel investigated the death of a child that occurred in a rural area of Claiborne Parish.

Claiborne Parish Sheriff Sam Dowies announced that his office, at approximately 10:03 AM today, was notified that two young children, a four-year-old and a seventeen-month-old, had walked away from and were missing from the residence located at 106 Winkler Road in Claiborne Parish. At approximately 10:15 AM, Claiborne Parish Deputy Sheriffs arrived at that residence where the children were last seen.

At approximately 10:29 AM, a responding Deputy Sheriff found the four-year-old approximately one-half of a mile from the Winkler Road residence. That child immediately received treatment from Pafford EMS and was found to be, except for minor scratches, uninjured. That child was released to a guardian.

Deputy Sheriffs, Louisiana State Police Troopers, David Wade Correctional Center Canine Officers, Volunteer Firemen, and private citizens conducted a search of the area.

At approximately 12:05 PM, seventeen-month-old Da Angelo Manning was found deceased north of Kendrick Springs Road, approximately one-half of a mile from the Winkler Road residence in an area where timber had recently been harvested.

Sheriff Dowies said the apparent cause-of-death appeared to have been the result of an animal attack. The Claiborne Parish Coroner directed that Da Angelo’s body be sent for an autopsy. The investigation into the death is ongoing.

Sheriff Dowies wanted to publicly thank the Louisiana State Police, David Wade Correctional Center, Claiborne Parish Volunteer Firemen, Pafford Ambulance Service, and the other concerned citizens who all quickly responded to assist with this tragic event.