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On Monday, July 11, 2022, the body of six-year-old Landon Raber was found by Virginia State Police in a pond. The non-verbal boy, who was diagnosed with Autism and Down Syndrome, was reported missing by his parents on Sunday night at around 8:45 pm.
A massive search party, which included all Buckingham County volunteer fire departments, the Virginia Department of Emergency Management Search and Rescue and Virginia State Police, looked for the missing child overnight. The tight-knit community of Buckingham County also came together to assist in the search. According to officials, his body was found in a pond on the property he was last seen in. It is believed that the missing boy died after drowning in the pond.
No public statement has been made yet regarding the boy's disappearance.
"It does paint a perfect picture of Buckingham County" says officials as the community bands together to search for Landon Raber
The six-year-old resident of Buckingham County, Virginia, was reported missing by his parents on Sunday night. Almost immediately, the small-town community joined the Virginia State Police, the Search and Rescue team from the Virginia Department of Emergency Management, and Buckingham County Fire Department in an overnight search that ended in the early hours of Monday.
According to police, Landon "Waldy" Raber was last seen near 4650 New Stone Road in Buckingham County around 8 p.m. on Sunday. While the child could not be saved, the Buckingham County Department of Emergency Services thanked the community profusely for their assistance, without which the search would have taken longer.
In a social media post regarding the death of Landon Raber, the department said:
"While this was not the outcome anyone was wanting or expecting, we’d like to thank everyone who was involved with searching all evening and all night. Please keep the family in your thoughts, and respect their privacy during this difficult time."
Cody Davis, the Incident Commander and Chief of the Department of Emergency Services for Buckingham County, also expressed his gratitude to the residents for their eager assistance. Without the assistance, it would have been a "little more difficult," he stated. As for the community, he said:
"It does paint a perfect picture of Buckingham County as a community. We’re a very close-knit group that has its positives and its negatives, and I think last night was a glaring depiction of a positive."
The sudden passing away of Landon Raber has shocked the close-knit community of Buckingham County. According to a Facebook page, the family, along with the residents, had arranged for a gathering on Monday evening in remembrance of the child who was gone too soon.
