Authorities search for a missing 2-year-old Oregon boy last seen playing in a yard

SILETZ, Ore. — Authorities in Oregon were searching Sunday for a missing 2-year-old boy last seen playing in a yard the day before.

Dane Paulsen was reported missing around 4:25 p.m. Saturday, the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office said. Members of the sheriff’s office and fire and police agencies searched the property and surrounding areas on foot and with drones with thermal imaging equipment Saturday, the sheriff’s office said in a statement on social media.

On Sunday, search and rescue teams were conducting methodical searches of an area north of the small city of Siletz, near the Siletz River, using drones, dogs and watercraft, the sheriff’s office said. Volunteers who wanted to help were urged to stay out of the main search area.

A late 1990s gold station wagon that was seen near the home where Dane was last known to be is considered a “vehicle of interest” in the investigation, the sheriff’s office said.

However, Sheriff Adam Shanks told KATU-TV that there is no evidence that the vehicle was directly involved in Dane’s disappearance.