From playground visit to running down alleyway – how tragedy unfolded in 20-min window as body found in hunt for Noah
LITTLE Noah Woods was last seen on CCTV running and playing in a village park, with hundreds turning out for a frantic two-day search.
The partially deaf, non-verbal three-year-old – wearing a T-shirt adorned with cartoon character Bluey – disappeared in a key 20-minute window.
CCTV released by cops showed Noah running around a swinging toy in an under-5s play park at 2.37pm on Tuesday.
Around 20 minutes later, Noah and his grandad left the park in Brantham, Suffolk.
But the little boy ran off, down an alleyway and towards a new-build housing estate and fishing lake nearby.
A frantic search was launched for the boy, and 24 hours later there was still no sign of him.
Divers scour lake in hunt for Noah, 3, as CCTV shows him minutes before vanishing
Hundreds of locals banded together to help scour the village for little Noah.
Dog units, police and HM Coastguard helicopters were deployed in the desperate hunt for the tot.
Suffolk Fire & Rescue and Suffolk Lowland Search & Rescue also joined the search.
Cops went door-to-door in their frantic search for the little boy.
Locals were urged to check outbuildings, gardens and under furniture.
Firefighters were seen looking under cars and over garden walls close to the playground.
Many were spotted walking around the village and searching the banks of the nearby River Stour by torchlight.
A search and rescue helicopter joined the hunt and high speed trains were ordered to slow down to avoid the risk of the boy being hit.
Officers were spotted near moored boats on the river and on the nearby railway line.
Yesterday afternoon, Decoy Pond was cordoned off by police tape as locals were warned the area is “out of bounds”.
The Met Police deployed specialist divers to search the fishing lake, about 0.2 miles away from the park.
Then in a tragic update just before 6pm last night, cops confirmed a body had been found.
Suffolk Police Superintendent Tom Pearse said: “Police have recovered the body of a child from Decoy Pond in Brantham.
“Formal identification is yet to take place, but the family of Noah Woods have been informed of this development.”
Noah’s dad Rhys Woods previously said he “cannot go another night knowing he is out there alone” as he made an urgent appeal to the local community.
Rhys said: “[Noah] is only mildly autistic and has partial hearing loss, he is fully capable of everyday tasks.
“This means knowing our boy, he has gone even further, could I ask that all of you brilliant people out there today expand your search further if you are able to?
“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.”
The local authority wrote yesterday: “We have just received an update from Suffolk Police that so far there have been no sightings of Noah.
“The police are continuing their search through the night.
“They have asked us to let the public know that if you are asked to move by the police this will be to allow them to do specialist work so please be courteous.
“For all those still searching, the police would like to remind volunteers to take care, travel in pairs, wear high-vis and to keep away from dangerous sites.
“As a priority please check your own property; in gardens, sheds, under furniture etc. Further updates will follow as we have them.”
