10-Year-Old Jayden Spicer Found Dead a Week After Going Missing at Night — Details
What began as a frantic search for a missing child ended in heartbreak and an arrest as the tragedy shifted from a missing-persons case to a harrowing criminal investigation.
The search for Jayden Spicer came to a tragic end nearly a week after he was reported missing. On Tuesday, August 12, 2025, troopers discovered the boy’s body buried in a shallow grave off Canoe Road — a remote area roughly 19 miles from his home on Panbowl Branch Road.Spicer was last seen on the night of Wednesday, August 6, reportedly wearing blue Sonic the Hedgehog pajamas. According to Kentucky State Police, his mother, 33-year-old Felicia Gross, told authorities he had vanished overnight.
Body of missing 10-year-old boy found in shallow grave days after disappearing; mother charged
BREATHITT COUNTY, Ky. (WKYT/Gray News) – The search for a missing child in Kentucky has come to a tragic end.
Kentucky State Police Trooper Matt Gayheart said the body of 10-year-old Jayden Spicer was recovered Tuesday afternoon.
Gayheart said the boy’s body was found in a shallow grave that was in a wooded area off Canoe Road.
Kentucky State Police troopers confirmed at a press conference Tuesday night that Jayden’s mother, Felicia Gross, has been charged in connection with the case.
Gross is facing charges of manslaughter, abuse of corpse, tampering with evidence and falsely reporting.
Authorities said Jayden’s body has been sent to the state medical examiner’s office in Frankfort for an autopsy.
According to Kentucky police, the 10-year-old went to bed last Tuesday night but went missing the following morning.
Numerous search crews have combed the surrounding area, even using sonar underwater, since his disappearance.
Last week, Jayden’s two aunts said they were questioning some of the information that was being shared about what took place.
“There’s some stuff that just doesn’t add up in this case,” Chyy Salyers, one of Jayden’s aunts, said.
Officials also said last week that they didn’t have any immediate leads, but that they weren’t leaving any stone unturned.
Gayheart said that crews were expanding their search to find Jayden.
“He’s a good boy. He is very sweet, loving. He is very hyperactive. He likes to be on the go … but he does not like insects at all, or the dark,” Samantha Bunty, another one of Jayden’s aunts, said.
The boy’s mother was booked into the Kentucky River Regional Jail.