Who was Noah Bush? Family demands justice after 8-year-old black boy found dead in Georgia borrow pit
Three people have been charged with the death of 8-year-old Noah Bush, who was found in a flooded construction borrow pit in Jesup, Georgia. Here's everything we know so far.
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Three individuals have been charged in connection with the death of 8-year-old Noah Bush
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The Wayne County Sheriff’s Department initially treated Noah’s death as an accidental drowning
Trigger Warning: This article contains references to an individual's death.
Three people have been charged with the tragic death of 8-year-old Noah Bush, whose body was found in a flooded construction borrow pit in Jesup, Georgia. At first, the Wayne County Sheriff's Department ruled his death accidental drowning. However, 55 days later, they concluded that it was a homicide as per News Week. This lengthy delay has led Noah's family to suspect that more people were involved in his death.
Noah's mother, Demetrice Michelle, last saw him on May 15, when he went outside to play with two new friends, ages ten and eleven. A Ring camera captured footage of the boys heading towards the borrow pit. Later, footage showed the boys returning with one of their mothers, but not Noah. The next day, after a massive search, Noah's body was found in the pit.
On July 10, police arrested and charged a 10-year-old and an unidentified 11-year-old with concealing another's death. The 11-year-old was additionally charged with involuntary manslaughter. Natalie Hardison, the mother of one of the boys, has been charged with making false statements to police.
Demetrice Michelle stated that authorities initially told her that Noah willingly entered the water, but she questioned this explanation, stating that "water wasn't his thing." Francys Johnson, the family's attorney, is calling for a more thorough investigation, believing that more people are involved in covering up Noah's death.
"The sheriff had the statements of these boys within 48 hours of Noah's drowning," Johnson said. "So to let this mother be led to believe that this was an accidental drowning for that long and to not inform the community is just really hard."
On May 15, Noah went missing from the Mill Creek Circle area of Wayne County. The Wayne County Sheriff's Office received the missing person report at 9:10 p.m. and immediately began searching.
Authorities shared Noah's identity with neighboring counties and sought assistance from the Georgia State Patrol and Glynn County K9 units. Despite extensive efforts, including the use of a Blackhawk helicopter from Fort Stewart, Noah was not located until the following morning.
At approximately 12:30 a.m. on May 16, the Glynn County K9 unit discovered a pair of children's shoes and bare footprints near the body of water. Noah's family acknowledged that the shoes belonged to him. Following the draining of the waterway, rescuers found Noah's body around 8 a.m.
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