Authorities: Chances slim that toddler missing from northern Arizona campground is still alive

Missing Arizona toddler case now a criminal probe

RIMROCK, Ariz. — Northern Arizona authorities say a toddler missing since late last month from a campground is feared dead, and the case has turned into a criminal investigation.

Yavapai County sheriff’s spokesman Dwight D’Evelyn said Monday that investigators don’t believe that 2-year-old Sylar Newton wandered off on his own as his custodial mother said.

The boy was last seen the night of July 24 at the Beaver Creek Campground near Rimrock, where he was camping with his custodial mother and her family.

D’Evelyn says investigators believe the boy was taken from the immediate area. A nine-day search of landfills, trash bins and other areas of the campsite turned up no sign of him.