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Justice for Braylen

Justice for Braylen

When Kim Sortor thinks about Braylen Noble, the 3-year-old Toledo boy whose body was found in an apartment-complex swimming pool five days after he went missing, her heart is heavy.

“I think we failed him,” Ms. Sortor says.

Three months later, investigators have not provided a single update on the boy’s case since his body was discovered.

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Tiffanie Howell, left, kneels down as her daughter Kensington, 5, gives her a hug after placing teddy bears along the pool fence during a vigil for Braylen Noble at Hunter's Ridge Apartments in Toledo, Ohio, on Thursday September 10, 2020.
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No toxicologic cause found in death of 3-year-old Braylen Noble

No arrests have been made and no updates have come from the Lucas County Coroner’s office, where the initial results of an autopsy were inconclusive. The cause and manner of his death remain undetermined.

Ms. Sortor says she fears that there will be no justice for Braylen. That would be unconscionable.

The city must do better for this child whose life was too brief and whose death cannot be allowed to go unexplained.

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Braylen, who was autistic and nonverbal, reportedly went missing from a third-floor apartment at Hunter’s Ridge apartments on Sept. 4.

His disappearance prompted a massive five-day search. Authorities and hundreds of community volunteers combed nearby Swan Creek and surrounding areas in hopes of finding the boy.

On Sept. 9, the worst news came as officials said Braylen’s body had been discovered in the apartment complex swimming pool. Volunteers like Ms. Sortor were crushed. The community’s collective heart was broken.

The only hope left was that answers about what had happened to 3-year-old Braylen could eventually be uncovered.

Braylen Noble
Alexandra Mester
Months later, investigators have no updates in death of Braylen Noble

Police have questioned the boy’s mother and grandmother, who lived at the apartments. Grieving community members posted his photo on the fence near the pool where his body was found and some who volunteered to search for him have sought counseling.

But since Braylen’s death, there mostly has been just silence.

Someone somewhere knows something about how a little boy got from a third-floor apartment into the swimming pool. Someone has information that can answer the questions in this case -- that can bring some justice for Braylen.

Anyone with information about the case is urged to contact the Crime Stopper program at 419-255-1111. Tipsters can remain anonymous and may be eligible for a cash reward.

The people who can answer the questions in this case must step forward. Until they do, Toledo is failing this child.

First Published December 18, 2020, 5:00 a.m.

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People light candles during a vigil for Braylen Noble at Hunter's Ridge Apartments in Toledo in September.  (THE BLADE/REBECCA BENSON)  Buy Image
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