Police said 6-year-old Ramon “RJ” Jett was recovered about 125 yards from where he disappeared.
RIVERDALE, GA — Clayton County police said Monday that search teams recovered the body of 6-year-old Ramon “RJ” Jett from Sand Pond after he vanished from a Riverdale apartment complex on Sunday.
The recovery ended an overnight search that drew police, divers, state wildlife officers, tracking teams, family members and volunteers to the Sutter Lake Apartments area on Webb Road. Police said the case remains active as detectives work to determine how the child reached the pond and what happened after he left the apartment.
Ramon was last seen Sunday between about 11:30 a.m. and noon at the apartment complex at 8104 Webb Road, according to police and local reports. His mother, Ashleigh Harris, said he had been staying with his older sister after they went swimming the day before. Harris said the siblings woke from a nap and found the front door open and Ramon gone. “Everybody just got into search mode,” Harris said. She described the hours that followed as filled with anxiety and hope as relatives, neighbors and officers spread through the complex and nearby areas.
Police said emergency teams spotted a body in Sand Pond at about 9:20 a.m. Monday and later confirmed it was Ramon. Officials said the recovery site was about 125 yards from where he was last seen. Ramon was described in the missing child alert as about 3 feet, 5 inches tall and about 40 pounds, with black hair and brown eyes. He had last been seen wearing a light green shirt, camouflage shorts and white socks. Family members said he was nonverbal and autistic, which added urgency because he might not have been able to call out, answer searchers or explain where he was.
The search covered the apartment complex, nearby wooded areas and water around the property. Clayton County police said they used specialized teams and tactical resources, including drones, K-9 teams, detectives, patrol officers and divers. The Georgia Department of Natural Resources joined the water search. Neighboring agencies also helped. Police said Clayton County did not have bloodhound tracking dogs available, so teams from Spalding County and Fayette County assisted with tracking resources during the search.
The search also brought neighbors and community members into the effort. Some joined the search while others brought water to officers working through hot weather. A Clayton County police representative said the help mattered because officers and residents were working toward the same goal. “There were a lot of citizens coming up, helping,” police said during an update. Officials said the community support helped keep search crews moving as they worked through the night and into Monday morning.
Harris said before the recovery that Ramon had wandered away before, but not across an area as large as the one searched Sunday and Monday. She said he could be cautious around people he did not know and might respond better to his nickname, RJ. She also said he liked numbers, letters and nursery rhymes. Those details were shared during the search as officers and relatives tried to improve the chances of finding him quickly. By Monday morning, the search had shifted from urgent rescue work to a death investigation.
Clayton County police said Ramon’s family had been notified after the recovery. In a statement, the department said the child was found deceased in a pond close to his last known location and offered condolences to his family. Police said no further details would be released immediately because detectives were still working to determine the circumstances of the case. Officials had not announced charges, a final cause of death or a complete timeline of Ramon’s movements after he left the apartment.
The case remains under investigation by Clayton County police. The next formal update is expected to depend on the findings of detectives and any medical review tied to the recovery. As of Monday afternoon, police had confirmed the recovery location, the time Ramon was found and that the investigation was still open.
Author note: Last updated June 29, 2026.