Police search for missing 2-year-old after mom is found slain in their apartment

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — A woman is dead and her toddler missing after police discovered a “very violent homicide scene” in a St. Petersburg area apartment Thursday.

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Pashun Jeffery, 20, was found dead and her son, Taylen Mosley, is missing, prompting authorities to issue an Amber Alert for the 2-year-old.

According to WESH-TV, Jeffery’s family last saw her and her son on Wednesday afternoon. Around 9:30 p.m. Wednesday, a neighbor said she heard a commotion coming from Jeffery’s apartment.

When Jeffery’s family could not get in touch with her Thursday, they asked the staff at the apartment complex to check on her around 2:30 p.m.

That was when Jeffery’s body was found and it was discovered that her son was missing.

“I can tell you it’s a very violent homicide scene in the apartment,” St. Petersburg Police Chief Anthony Holloway told WFLA. “Our main concern is we need to find this 2-year-old. We need to know where he is.”

“It’s all hands on deck right now,” Holloway said. “We’ll call our detectives in, we have our county, state and federal partners that are assisting because we want to find Taylen. That’s our main goal right now.”

The boy is not with his father, according to Holloway.

Police believe Jeffery and her son were the only two occupants of the apartment, based on the lease, WESH reported.

Authorities plan to launch a drone to do a grid search of the area, Holloway said.