Joe Clyde Daniels Searches Suspended, Blanket Now Doubted

CHARLOTTE, TN -- As doubts emerge about a clue once thought crucial in the investigation, Dickson County's sheriff said there are no more searches planned for the missing body of 5-year-old Joe Clyde Daniels.

Sheriff Jeff Bledsoe said after last Saturday's massive search involving dozens of professionals, including some on horseback and employing drone technology, no further searches are planned at this time. Bledsoe said the department needs to review what it's learned before moving forward with a more targeted search.

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The announcement comes as doubts are being placed about whether a blanket reportedly believed to be the little boy's was actually his. A source told NewsChannel 5 that the blanket found last week on C C C Road, which was reportedly identified as Joe Clyde's by a family member, may actually belong to the owner of the property where it was found and that the man says he discarded it after it had gotten wet.

With Joe Clyde's body still missing, the blanket was one of the few pieces of physical evidence in the case, though neither Bledsoe nor the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation ever confirmed or denied its 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