A DESPERATE hunt has been launched for a partially deaf three-year-old boy who vanished from a village playground.
Noah was last seen at 3pm on Tuesday as locals mounted a huge search for the missing youngster in Brantham, Suffolk.
The three-year-old, who is reported to be partly deaf, non-verbal and autistic, was separated from his grandfather after visiting an under 5s playground in Merriam Close.
But he was unable to catch Noah as he slipped away down a footpath next to the playground, raising the alarm after finding no trace of him.
Suffolk Police described the tot as white with curly, ginger hair and wearing a white Bluey t-shirt, shorts and white trainers when he disappeared.
He is said to have run off toward a new build housing estate and a large fishing lake known as Decoy Pond.
Police added that Noah wouldn’t respond to his name being called, reports the BBC.
The area is surrounded by woodland, thick bushes and fields leading down to the main railway line between Ipswich and Liverpool Street, London.
Trains which normally go down the track at up to 100mph appeared to slow down to around 20mph when they were passing through the area on Tuesday night.
The River Stour is on the other side of the railway track from where Noah disappeared.
Scores of people scoured the area on Tuesday to try and find any trace of the missing youngster.
Firefighters were also seen looking under cars and over garden walls close to the playground while the coastguard were also deployed.
Many were seen walking around the village and searching the banks of the 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.
But the mood among those searching for him became increasingly desperate as darkness fell with no sign of Noah.
Search parties have now been asked to move away from the pond given it has been searched thoroughly and to try other areas.
One woman who was searching said: “We are just praying that he might have got tired and be curled up somewhere asleep.”
Another woman who joined the search and gave her name as Kerry, 35, said: “People have been searching for more than four hours now and have found nothing.
“Nobody is giving up, but it is looking really bad. There’s no sign of him anywhere. I heard that he was with his granddad and he just outran him.”
The mother-of-four added: “I think he was being looked after while his mum was at work. Then this happens. His granddad couldn’t keep up with him. It’s just a question of trying to find him before it gets pitch black.”
A youth who said he was a cousin of Noah said: “It all happened in just a moment. My granddad was telling him to stop and he just ran off.”
Noah’s father Rhys Woods posted a message on Facebook, saying: “I am the father of Noah the boy who is currently missing.
“We really do appreciate all of the help in searching for our boy, could we ask for search parties to not enter the Decoy Pond area. This has been searched thoroughly since mid afternoon.
“Also the amount of bodies makes it hard to pick up the infra red signal we need (Noah’s). Thank you again for all your help, and I’m praying we find him.”
A spokesperson for Suffolk Constabulary said: “Emergency services are currently in Brantham conducting searches.
“Residents in the area are asked to check their gardens, sheds and outbuildings.”
A spokesperson for HM Coastguard said: “We are assisting Suffolk Constabulary with an incident at Brantham by sending an HM Coastguard helicopter and Coastguard Rescue Teams from Felixstowe and Holbrook.”
Anyone who thinks they have seen Noah is asked to contact Suffolk Police, quoting CAD 203 of 15 September.
