An Oregon father is under scrutiny after reportedly neglecting his duty to supervise his two-year-old son, who tragically drowned last year. Prosecutors allege that Aaron Paulsen was engrossed in a television binge, failing to prevent his son, Dane Paulsen, from leaving their home unsupervised.
Aaron Paulsen now faces misdemeanor child neglect charges following the heartbreaking incident. Court documents reveal that Dane’s mother, Cha Met Jackson, had entrusted Aaron with their son’s care as she departed their home on March 1, 2025, in the rural community of Siletz.
Despite this responsibility, Aaron allegedly admitted to police that he had been absorbed in watching TV when he noticed Dane walk out through the back sliding glass door. This distraction proved fatal, as young Dane eventually found his way to nearby water.
Adding to the chaotic sequence of events, Cha Met Jackson reportedly heard her son knocking on the door of the trailer she was in on the property. Although alarmed by the noise, she allegedly chose to continue her cleaning tasks inside, neglecting to check on Dane’s well-being.
Meanwhile, Cha Met allegedly told authorities she had heard her son knocking on the door of the trailer she was in on the property and thought, ‘Oh s**t, the baby’s out.’
However, prosecutors say, she did not open the door to the trailer and instead continued to ‘clean up inside.’
In total, District Attorney Jenna Wallace said, 15 minutes passed before the parents noticed he was missing, according to the Lincoln Chronicle.
As authorities searched for the young boy, they found a toddler’s footprint at the edge of the river near the couple’s house and a toy his parents said he had been playing with prior to his disappearance.
Dane Paulsen, two, went missing from his home in Siletz, Oregon on March 1, 2025
Prosecutors now claim his father, Aaron Paulsen, watched as the young boy walked through the sliding glass doors but did not intervene
Court documents also allege that the boy’s mother, Cha Met Jackson, told authorities she had heard her son knocking on the door of the trailer she was in on the property and thought, ‘Oh s**t, the baby’s out’ but did not open the door to the trailer and went back to cleaning
Nearly 100 certified search and rescue members were then enlisted to comb the Siletz River and acres of forested land for the toddler.
Several law enforcement agencies joined the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office in the investigation including the Oregon State Police, the Lincoln City Police Department, Newport PD, the FBI, and Siletz Valley fire.
In total, four watercrafts were used in the search along with 13 divers, four drones, six canines and 40 investigators before Dane’s remains were found by volunteer diver Juan Heredia in the Siletz River, about three miles downstream of the boy’s home.
Court documents now claim both Aaron and Cha Met were ‘aware that Dane loved the water, was not fearful of the water, but did not know how to swim.’
Aaron was ultimately indicted by a grand jury in October, and pleaded not guilty to misdemeanor charges of child neglect the following month.
He was then released under the condition that he is restricted from being present around unsupervised children under the age of five.
Aaron and Cha Met also have an older daughter who was nine at the time of the court proceeding, and was not included in the restriction.
Aaron is now facing misdemeanor child neglect charges, to which he has pleaded not guilty
But the court documents obtained by KATU also detail how one of Aaron and Cha Met’s previous neighbors once called police to report that the elder daughter was also the victim of child neglect.
The neighbor ‘reported that it was not uncommon’ for Dane’s older sister ‘to be left outside playing in the yard or street unsupervised for 30 to 60 minutes as a toddler,’ the court documents allege.
Another report was also filed by a teenager, who came across Dane standing on Highway 229 in September 2024.
The teenager told police the toddler was ‘only wearing a diaper and a blue sweater,’ and brought the young boy back to his house until his parents could be notified.
Prosecutors now plan to call 20 witnesses at Aaron’s upcoming trial.
