The desperate search for three-year-old Noah Woods has ended in tragedy after police divers recovered the body of a child from a pond in Brantham, Suffolk.
Noah, who was non-verbal and had partial hearing loss, disappeared from a playground on Merriam Close on Tuesday afternoon after becoming separated from a relative.
His disappearance triggered a huge search operation, with more than 1,300 members of the public joining police and emergency services in the hunt for the missing toddler.
Suffolk Police confirmed on Wednesday evening that specialist dive teams had recovered a child’s body from Decoy Pond, a large fishing lake close to where Noah was last seen.
Formal identification had not yet taken place, but police said Noah’s family had been informed.
Police release final CCTV of Noah
Before the discovery, Suffolk Police had released CCTV showing Noah’s last known moments at the playground.
The footage shows the three-year-old playing and running around a merry-go-round at the Merriam Close park at around 2.37pm on Tuesday.
Police believe he later ran down an alleyway beside the playground towards a nearby new-build housing estate.
The area around Decoy Pond was subsequently cordoned off as specialist teams searched the water.
At the time, police said the investigation was being treated as a missing-person inquiry and that there was “nothing to indicate anything sinister or any element of criminality has taken place”, although officers were keeping an open mind about the circumstances.
More than 1,300 people joined the search
The search grew rapidly as police officers, specialist dog teams, Coastguard crews and members of the public combed Brantham and surrounding areas.
The operation was supported by helicopters from the National Police Air Service and HM Coastguard, as well as Suffolk Fire & Rescue Service and Suffolk Lowland Search & Rescue.
The search area was later expanded to include East Bergholt and Manningtree.
Police urged members of the public to report to the search coordination centre rather than searching independently, allowing teams to organise the operation systematically and avoid duplication.
Superintendent Tom Pearse also warned volunteers to stay away from open water and railway lines because those areas required specialist expertise.
People were additionally asked not to fly personal drones, which police said could interfere with specialist search equipment.
Police urged residents to check CCTV
As the search continued, residents were asked to thoroughly check their gardens, sheds, outbuildings and other places where a small child might have hidden or sought shelter.
Police also appealed to anyone with CCTV or doorbell-camera footage to review recordings from around 3pm on Tuesday.
Motorists travelling through Brantham were similarly asked to check dashcam footage for possible sightings of Noah.
He had been described as a white child with curly ginger hair. Police said he was wearing a white Bluey T-shirt and shorts when he disappeared, with reports also describing his footwear as black Vans trainers with a white stripe.
Noah’s father made emotional appeal
Noah’s father, Rhys Woods, had thanked the thousands of people who joined the search and pleaded with them not to give up.
He said the response from emergency services and the wider community had shown how strong the area was, with people travelling from far and wide to help find his son.
Rhys also addressed reports about Noah’s condition, saying the boy was only mildly autistic, had partial hearing loss and was capable of everyday tasks.
He said emergency services were confident that high-risk locations, including Decoy Pond and the railway lines, had been checked.
That led him to ask volunteers to widen their search beyond those areas.
“I cannot go another night knowing he’s out there alone,” Rhys said. “Please don’t give up on him, guys. He is out there somewhere and I appreciate every single one of you.”
Body recovered from Decoy Pond
The heartbreaking development was announced by Superintendent Tom Pearse after specialist divers searched Decoy Pond.
“Police dive teams this afternoon have sadly recovered the body of a child from Decoy Pond in Brantham,” he said.
“Formal identification has yet to be confirmed but the family of Noah Woods have been informed of this development.”
Pearse said the discovery was being treated as “not suspicious but unexplained”.
He also paid tribute to the enormous public response to the search, saying police had been “overwhelmed by the outpouring of public support”.
More than 1,300 members of the public had taken part, alongside police officers, search teams and emergency services.
“As a parent myself, I completely understand why people would want to help,” Pearse said, describing the response as reflecting the strong sense of community in Suffolk.
He added that Noah’s family now needed “time, space and privacy” and thanked the public for respecting their wishes.
The formal identification of the child remains outstanding.