“Sweet and innocent.” Missing boy in England found dead

Noh, Woods, the three-year-old boy who disappeared from a playground in Brantham, Suffolk, England, on Tuesday afternoon, was found dead in a lake about a day later. This Thursday, the father paid him a tribute, describing him as the “sweetest and innocent boy”.

The boy disappeared around 3 p.m. Tuesday when he walked away from a relative. A day later, during Wednesday afternoon, Suffolk police confirmed that a body was found during the search for the child in a lake.

“ Our thoughts are with Noah’s family and everyone who knew him,” said police superintendent Tom Pearse.

“ We are impressed by the demonstration of public support and the people who mobilized to help”, he added, stressing that about 1,300 people helped in the search for the boy, who did not speak and had partial hearing loss.

According to the police, the child's death is not being treated as a suspect.

In a statement, shared in a Facebook social network group and quoted by Sky News, Noah Woods’ father described him as “the sweetest and most innocent boy”

“ As you may have seen, the body found in Decoy Pond is that of our little Noah”, he began by writing Rhys Woods. “There are no words to describe the pain of this loss. We're all heartbroken. Noah was the sweetest, most innocent boy, with nothing but love to give, and we will miss him very, very much.”

“ This was the most painful outcome for us. We were just waiting for him to be hiding in an obvious place where someone could find him, that’s what we kept repeating for ourselves,” he added.

“ You will be loved forever, you will never be forgotten and we miss you very, very much. It was a privilege to be your parents and we could transmit so much love in these three short years that you were with us”, he concluded.

Noah’s father also expressed “sincere thanks to all” community members and emergency services who participated in the search.

“ The compassion shown by all of you will never be forgotten by us and brought us comfort and strength in the most difficult moment of our lives ", stressed.