The father of Noah, the three-year-old boy who was found dead after going missing from a playground, has spoken of his heartbreak and thanked the community who launched a tireless search for his son. Rhys Woods said there were “no words to describe the pain of this loss”, adding that the family was “absolutely heartbroken”. The small village of Brantham, Suffolk had mobilised on Tuesday, when the three-year-old went missing after becoming separated from a relative at 2.37pm.
Noah is thought to have slipped down a woodland path towards the pond where his body was found. More than 1,300 people from the village and beyond descended on the area to search for Noah. They scoured the woodlands and fields around the area close to the River Stour on the Essex border as helicopters flew overhead.
On Wednesday afternoon, a body was discovered at the pond, a short walk from the playground. Woods said: “Noah was the sweetest and most innocent little boy, with nothing but love to give, and we are going to miss him so very much. It seems he has made an impact across the whole nation.
Another read: “We are sorry we couldn’t get to you sooner.” One person from the village wrote: “Little Noah, may you rest in eternal peace. You will remain in the hearts of the village and of all your friends.” The mood on Thursday morning was muted. The leisure centre had been turned into a makeshift community hub, with a response centre consisting of councillors, local police and volunteers having meetings in the adjacent village hall.
Goldie, who did not want to give her surname, was volunteering to run the community hub, where a handful of local people chatted quietly. She said: “We’re providing a place for people to gather, and we’ve made a tribute book. Tributes are pouring in online but for the family there is frankly some abuse online so we want them to have something to look at while avoiding that.
The community is reeling. If there was a chance for him to be found he would have been. Everyone did their very best.
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