Scared Friends Kept Boy’s Death a Secret

The body of a 10-year-old boy was discovered in an abandoned grain silo after his frightened playmates, who witnessed his accidental fall, revealed the secret they had kept for months.

Ricky Rodriguez disappeared April 26. On Thursday, the mother of one of Ricky’s playmates called police to say she learned what had happened: He fell from an abandoned silo at a deserted brewery while bouncing with his companions on conveyor belts.

Fearing they’d be blamed for Ricky’s death, the boys kept the secret from his parents and their own families as police used helicopters and scuba divers to search for the boy.