Father charged in 5-year-old's death after body found near Truth or Consequences
Aug. 14—A New Mexico man is facing charges in connection with his 5-year-old son's death after authorities found the boy's body in the Rio Grande near Truth or Consequences.
Shaquille Ferguson Sr. is charged with negligent abuse of a child resulting in death, abuse of a child and obstruction of an investigation of child abuse, according to a news release from New Mexico State Police.
On June 18, the grandmother of the 5-year-old told police she hadn't seen the boy in more than two weeks.
She told police she went to a park with her grandson and the boy's father. The father took the boy down to the river, but didn't return with the child, the release said.
The father told the grandmother the boy was with another family member.
When state police and Homeland Security Investigations asked Ferguson where his son was, he told them the boy was staying with a family member in Colorado. Agents determined that the family member didn't exist.
Ferguson later told investigators the boy had drowned while they were swimming in the Rio Grande. A witness who was parked at the riverbank the day the boy disappeared told investigators a man matching the father's description went down to the river with a child but didn't return with the boy, the release said.
On June 19, authorities recovered the boy's body and on Aug. 6, the Office of the Medical Investigator positively identified the remains as Shaquille Ferguson Jr.
