Crime · updated 1h ago · 2 min read
Police Find Body of Missing Three-Year-Old Noah Woods in Suffolk Pond
Body of three-year-old Noah Woods found in Decoy Pond, Brantham, Suffolk. Recovered by dive teams; death being treated as unexplained by police.
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Noah Woods found dead
Police found a body in the search for missing three-year-old Noah Woods in Suffolk, after the autistic, non-verbal boy with partial hearing loss went missing on Tuesday afternoon in Brantham.
“Formal identification has yet to take place, but the family of Noah Woods have been informed of this development”
Sky News said the discovery was made in a nearby pond and that Superintendent Tom Pearse told reporters: "Formal identification has yet to take place, but the family of Noah Woods have been informed of this development,".
The BBC reported that Supt Tom Pearse said dive teams recovered the body of a child from a nearby pond and that the death was being treated as "unexplained but not suspicious,".
The search had been triggered after Noah was last seen at 3pm on Tuesday in Merriam Close, Brantham, near Manningtree, after he became separated from a relative during a visit to a village playground.
Search scale and statements
The search operation involved the police, coastguard and about 1,300 volunteers, with specialist dive teams from the Metropolitan Police deployed to assist with the hunt for Noah.
The BBC said Supt Pearse told the public: "We have been overwhelmed by the outpouring of public support and people putting on their boots to help,".
In the Independent, Superintendent Tom Pearse said at a press conference that "There is nothing to indicate anything sinister or any element of criminality has taken place, although we keep an open mind as to the circumstances,".
The BBC also described how people from as far afield as Birmingham and Hampshire turned up to help, while helicopters, dog units and members of the public scoured the area close to the estuary of the River Stour on the Essex border.
What happens next
Police said the coroner would be informed after the body was recovered from Decoy Pond in Brantham, and the discovery was being treated as not suspicious but unexplained.
“The coroner will be informed of this development”
The Guardian quoted Supt Tom Pearse saying, "The coroner will be informed of this development," and added that officers had carried out multiple inquiries including the deployment of special search officers and dog units.
The BBC reported that Supt Pearse said Noah’s family had been informed, and that the death was being treated as unexplained but not suspicious while formal identification had yet to take place.
As the case moved from search to investigation, police also said the family needed "time, space and privacy," and the BBC noted that divers from the Metropolitan Police were called in to search Decoy Pond, about 350 yds (320m) from the playground where Noah was last seen.