13-year-old Dakota Cody Trenkle Jr. has woken up from an 11-day medically induced coma, nearly two weeks after he was found at the bottom of a ravine. For the first time since her son’s disappearance, Stephanie Neely feels hopeful.
After being gone for 80 hours, it took me 11 long days to hope that Cody would be alright, she added. While skating in Goose Creek Lake, Missouri, on July 27, Cody vanished, going more than three days without food or drink.
On July 30, Cody’s brother discovered his skateboard approximately 0.5 miles from his house. Darrell, a bloodhound brought in by the Farmington Correctional Center K-9 squad that evening, was able to locate him and follow him to a ravine. He was found there, severely wounded, laying in a foot of water.
Doctors discovered life-threatening complications after he was taken to a hospital in St. Louis, including several brain bleeds, a fractured skull, deep wounds throughout his body, significant head trauma, and weak kidneys. He was put on a ventilator and put into a medically induced coma because his injuries affected his breathing.
Neely stayed at his side, not giving up, even while he lay in a coma. Cody began to show slight indications of improvement on August 8 and began to respond. He had a significant emotional breakthrough the next day, August 9, when he told his mother, “I love you,” in American Sign Language.
“That was a pivotal moment for me,” she told people. That tiny gesture signified my baby was returning to me, which made the last few weeks of worry, anguish, hope, thankfulness, sadness, and pain worthwhile. An important turning point in his condition occurred on August 10, when the ventilator was removed by the doctors.
Cody’s condition started to improve almost immediately. Cody looked at me and exclaimed, “Mama, I’m thirsty, I need a 16-ounce Coke from McDonald’s!” while he was being weaned off of the sedative, the ventilator, and became more conscious. Neely gave a share.
Soon later, determined to cheer him up, she brought him a Burger King Whopper. He had his first genuine meal—a burger and a Coke—on August 11. Even though he was kept under light sedation for a short while, Neely reported that after the medication had stopped, the past 24 hours had been quite painful for him.
However, he faces significant physical obstacles during his recuperation. According to Neely, he lost muscular mass while in the coma and sustained injuries that prevented him from walking. Pneumonia, illnesses, and fatigue limit his capacity to talk for extended periods of time.
Nelly told NBC affiliate KSDK that her son had serious respiratory problems as a result of being in the water for a long period and being exposed to a lot of dangerous microorganisms. Significant back injuries were also sustained in the 240-foot plunge into the ravine. Neely stated that he would be moved to a pediatric hospital with specialist physical, occupational, and psychiatric rehabilitation programs because his brain damage are still extremely noticeable.
WARNING: There are graphic details of injuries in this page.
After going missing for more than four days, 13-year-old Dakota Cody Trenkle Jr. of Missouri was discovered alive in a ravine close to his home, but he is still in critical condition due to severe injuries. According to pic.twitter.com/FPQqrOeDmt, Cody was reported.
Updates on True Crime (@TrueCrimeUpdat) August 1, 2025
Neely is proud of her son’s perseverance in spite of the challenges that lie ahead. Since his birth, I’ve known he was a fighter. “He fought for his life when he was born super preemie, and now, nearly 14 years later, he’s doing it again,” mom said.
She describes him as tenacious, tough, and resilient, and she thinks his spirit saved him. He had no intention of giving up. “I’m not just going to lie here and die,” he said. It’s huge that two weeks after going missing, he’s finally coming out of it. He continues to show everyone that he is battling, that he is still alive, and that he is capable of surviving.
