Crime Missing 2-Year-Old Florida Boy Found Dead in Alligator's Mouth, Police Say An urgent search for the boy was underway after his mother's body was found in "a very violent homicide scene" inside their home on Wednesday By Alexis Jones Alexis Jones Alexis Jones is a writer-reporter at PEOPLE. She has been working at PEOPLE since 2022. Her work has previously appeared on Daily Bruin. People Editorial Guidelines Published on April 2, 2023 07:45PM EDT The search for a missing 2-year-old Florida boy has since been called off after he was found dead inside an alligator's mouth, according to police. St. Petersburg Police wrote in a statement on Facebook Friday that Taylen Mosley's body was found after issuing an amber alert for the toddler on Wednesday and a search that involved state, federal and county authorities as well as a drone and dogs. According to the statement, the search led police to Lake Maggiore, where they spotted something inside an alligator's mouth. "The alligator was killed in order to retrieve the body, confirmed as that of Taylen Mosley. The medical examiner will determine what caused his death," the statement read. Urgent Search Underway for Missing 2-Year-Old Boy After Mom Found Murdered in Florida Apartment Taylen Mosley. FDLE Twitter; St. Petersburg Police Department Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up for PEOPLE's free True Crime newsletter for breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases. Per the statement, Police Chief Anthony Holloway announced that Taylen's father, Thomas Mosley, has been charged with two counts of first-degree murder for the death of Taylen's mother, Pashun Jeffery, and of his son. Records show he was booked into the Pinellas County jail. Douglas R. Clifford/Tampa Bay Times via ZUMA Press Wire Taylen went missing after his mother, 20, was found dead in their apartment on Thursday afternoon after a family member asked the building manager to check on the pair, authorities said. The police chief said the crime scene was "very violent on the inside" and that there were serious concerns for the safety of Taylen. Holloway added that authorities "[knew] he [was] not with his father." "We didn't want to find him this way, but at least we can bring some closure to that family now," Holloway said, according to CNN.