A body has been found by police searching for a missing three-year-old boy, Noah Woods, bringing a huge community search effort in Suffolk to a tragic end.
What happened
Noah went missing on Tuesday afternoon after becoming separated from a relative at a playground in Brantham, Suffolk. Police said dive teams recovered the body of a child from a pond close to the playground, roughly 320 metres away, on Wednesday. Suffolk Police’s Superintendent Tom Pearse confirmed the death was being treated as unexplained but not suspicious, and that formal identification had not yet taken place, though Noah’s family had been told of the discovery.
Noah was described by police as non-verbal and partially deaf, and those helping in the search had been warned he would not respond to being called.
A community effort
The search drew an extraordinary response. Police said more than 1,300 members of the public joined the effort, with volunteers travelling from as far as Birmingham and Hampshire to help. Search coordination was based out of Brantham Leisure Centre and the village hall, both of which ran short of hi-vis vests given the scale of the turnout. Specialist teams were also involved, including Suffolk’s Hazardous Area Response Team, Suffolk Lowland Search and Rescue, the Environment Agency, HM Coastguard, the fire service and ambulance crews, alongside helicopters and dog units. By Wednesday the search area had widened into East Bergholt and Manningtree, across the border in Essex, and Metropolitan Police divers were brought in to search a nearby fishing lake known as Decoy Pond.
Supt Pearse thanked the public for their support, saying the scale of the response reflected the strength of community feeling in Suffolk, and asked that the family now be given time and privacy.
Among those who joined the search was Jessica Gammons, a mother of two from Kelvedon who took part despite being heavily pregnant. She said she felt compelled to help because her own son is also three, adding that she couldn’t stop thinking about Noah. Michael Crowley, who was working near the playground and was among the last to see Noah before he disappeared, said the boy had seemed happy and healthy.
This is a developing story. If you have been affected by the loss of a child, Suffolk Police and local support services can provide guidance.
