A body has been found in Decoy Pond near Brantham, Suffolk, during the search for three-year-old Noah Woods, who disappeared from a playground the previous afternoon. Formal identification has not yet taken place, but Noah’s parents have been informed and a file has been passed to the coroner.
Suffolk Police said the death was being treated as unexplained but not suspicious. Divers located the body at about 5.40pm, close to the point where the pond lies around 250 yards from Merriam Way playground.
Noah had been playing with a relative at the playground on Tuesday when he ran away at 2.37pm. He was last seen heading down a path alongside the play area and towards a new housing estate.
Police believe he may have reached the nearby pond, which is around 150 yards wide and surrounded by trees and fields. Divers entered the water almost 24 hours after Noah disappeared.
The search involved police, coastguards, firefighters and more than 2,000 members of the public. Around 1,000 people searched through Tuesday night, while a further 1,300 joined the operation in the village and surrounding farmland the following day.
The effort was co-ordinated by Brantham parish council, with the village hall and leisure centre used as bases for volunteers. Noah’s father, Rhys Woods, 25, had appealed for people to widen the search.
“I cannot go another night knowing he’s out there alone, please don’t give up on him, guys. He is out there somewhere and I appreciate every single one of you,” he wrote on social media.
Superintendent Tom Pearse said: “Our thoughts are with Noah’s family and all those who knew him.”
He added: “We have been overwhelmed by the outpouring of public support and people putting on their boots to help.”
Noah was non-verbal, had partial hearing loss and was undergoing tests for autism. He had curly ginger hair and was wearing a T-shirt featuring Bluey, one of his favourite cartoon characters, when he disappeared.
More than 100 floral tributes had been placed beside the playground, alongside teddy bears, model cars and Bluey toys. Villagers also left candles after darkness fell.
Messages included: “Little Noah, May you rest in eternal peace. You will remain in the hearts of the village and all your friends forever. Shine bright XX.” Another read: “We didn’t know you but we helped to find you. RIP little man.”
Volunteers were left in tears when news of the discovery emerged. Georgia Terry, a 30-year-old carer who travelled from Clacton to help search, said: “It just makes your blood run cold. In the blink of an eye, as well. It’s dreadful.”
A man who had joined the search with a young girl said: “It sounded bad from the start but we had to come because there’s always hope. It looks like that’s gone now. I can’t imagine what Noah’s family are going through.”
