Body of Missing Boy Found Beside Creek Near His House

NORTON, Mass. â€”  A 9-year-old who disappeared while looking for his dog in a snowstorm was found dead Sunday near a shallow stream about 300 yards from his family’s home, in an area that had been searched several times before.

The body of Corey Anderson was found curled in a ball in dense underbrush along the banks of an icy brook after the stripes of his Boston Bruins jacket caught a searcher’s eye, police said.

When asked why the boy would be in such a spot--with growth so thick an adult would have to crawl on hands and knees to enter--Massachusetts State Police Trooper Paul Hartley’s voice cracked as he responded: “He got lost.�

Search crews in canoes made the discovery shortly before noon on the bank of Mulberry Brook.

It was the fifth time the area had been searched. But police said the body was only visible from the creek, and snow that might have obscured the body had melted.

It appeared the boy was trying to stay out of the waters of the swamp next to the creek when he died, Hartley said.

Unsure about how Corey died, police said they do not think he drowned. An autopsy is scheduled.

Corey’s parents and sister did not immediately comment, but through the police they thanked those who helped in the search.

“Our hearts go out to them,� State Police Lt. Paul Maloney said.

The disappearance during a fierce snowstorm received national attention, as hundreds of searchers combed the boy’s neighborhood, hoping against growing odds to find Corey alive.

Rescuers used dogs, horses, boats and a helicopter to search woods, cranberry bogs, swamps and a lake behind his home.

Corey was wearing two jackets, a sweater and fur-lined boots when he left his house Thursday during a storm that dumped 7 inches of snow in the area. He was looking for a golden retriever mix named Jasmine, who had bolted from the house earlier. The dog turned up an hour later in a neighbor’s yard.