Missing South Lake Tahoe boy found dead; apparent victim of falling tree
Submitted by editor on Sun, 12/14/2014 - 10:02am
South Lake Tahoe Police found the body of a missing 14-year-old South Tahoe High freshman on Saturday afternoon.
Dejon Smith had been missing since Thursday afternoon when he never returned home after heading out to play after school. Police responded to the 1100 block of Wildwood Avenue to follow up on a report of a missing juvenile. They followed leads with no results at that time.
On Friday a witness told police that Smith was last seen in the wooded area behind the 3600 block of Rancho Way. This person stated he had seen him late Thursday evening in the woods where they parted ways.
Several South Lake Tahoe Officers responded to the area described by the witness and conducted a thorough search of the area, but did not locate the missing juvenile.
On Saturday, December 13, a citizen contacted the police reporting they had located a deceased subject in the wooded area behind the 3400 block of Rancho Way.
Police responded to the scene and confirmed the deceased was the missing juvenile. The location where the juvenile was located was more than a half mile from where the witness had previously described to officers. The initial investigation suggests that the juvenile was struck by a large (50’) falling tree during the severe storm on the night of December 11.
Friends and family have confirmed Dejon was the victim in the accident. His mother works at Grocery Outlet and is a long time local.
The investigation is ongoing at this time. Anyone with information about regarding this case should call the South Lake Tahoe Police Department at 530-542-6100.
