Joe Clyde Daniels' Blanket Found: Report

CHARLOTTE, TN -- A critical clue in the search for the body of murdered 5-year-old Joe Clyde Daniels has been discovered, sources tell multiple Nashville media outlets.

Both Fox 17 and NewsChannel 5 report that sources close to the investigation said that a blanket belonging to the missing boy was found on C C C Road Wednesday. Both stations further report that the blanket was confirmed as belonging to Joe Clyde. Fox 17 said it was confirmed by his father and accused killer Joe Daniels; NewsChannel 5 said the confirmation came from "family members."

(For more updates on this story and free news alerts for your neighborhood, sign up for your local Middle Tennessee Patch morning newsletter.)

Dickson County Sheriff Jeff Bledsoe would not confirm or deny the blanket's discovery.

Joe Clyde Daniels was reported missing by his parents from their home in rural Dickson County northwest of Nashville the morning of April 4, launching a massive search utilizing hundreds of volunteers and law enforcement officers. The boy's father, Joe Daniels, was arrested April 7, charged with beating his son to death and hiding his body. His mother, Krystal Daniels, was arrested two days later, charged with aggravated child neglect.

Joe Daniels did not initially offer detectives any tips as to where the body was, though that has changed in recent weeks, although none of the locations he's offered have "panned out," investigators say. A huge search May 19 utilizing hundreds of volunteers yielded no clues, nor did a wide-ranging professional search last week.

Photo via Tennessee Bureau of Investigation