LINCOLN COUNTY Ore. (KPTV) - The father of a toddler who drowned in the Siletz River near the central Oregon coast in March has been charged in connection to his death, according to court documents.

2-year-old Dane Paulsen was declared missing on the afternoon of March 1, 2025. He was last seen in his family’s yard which backed up directly to the Siletz River in Siletz, Oregon. Search crews, made up of deputies, professionals and volunteers, combed the rugged coastal terrain for a week but didn’t turn up the boy’s body. On March 11, Dane’s body was found by Juan Heredia with Angels Recovery Dive Team in the river about two miles downstream from the family’s home.

On October 16, a grand jury indicted Dane’s father, Aaron Scott Paulsen, with second-degree child neglect for allegedly leav

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