Coroner says 5-year-old boy at center of IAN Alert in Hart County, Kentucky, died from drowning

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- The cause of death for a 5-year-old boy with autism who was found dead after a statewide IAN Alert Tuesday in Hart County, Kentucky, was consistent with drowning.

That's according to the Hart County Coroner, WDRB's partners at LEX18 News reported Wednesday.

An IAN Alert was issued by Kentucky State Police around 9:35 a.m. Tuesday that said Silas Shearer was seen walking away from his home on July 15, 2025, at approximately 8 a.m. in Cub Run, Kentucky.

"Tragically, he was found deceased," KSP said in a news release later Tuesday morning. "KSP grieves with this family and the community."

KSP is still investigating the child's death.

"When they got to the scene, troopers did everything that we do. We did use the drones, so that's what actually helped us locate the child, and tragically the child was found deceased," Trooper Katan Parker, KSP Post 3 spokesperson, said.

Most people are familiar with Amber Alerts, which are issued when a missing child is endangered. But in July 2024, Kentucky lawmakers passed two new laws that allow state police to issue alerts that use different criteria for missing individuals.

The IAN Alert was named for Ian Sousis, a northern Kentucky boy with autism who escaped a children's home. He was found after he drown in the Ohio River. The IAN Alert is issued for missing children under 18 with intellectual disability or mental illness.

The Ashanti Alert was named for Billie Ashanti, a Virginia woman who was abducted from her workplace and found dead 11 days later in North Carolina. Since she was 19, she didn't fit the criteria for an Amber Alert. The Ashanti Alert is issued for people who are 18 years old or older and if there is reason to believe their disappearance was involuntary.

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