Dozens of floral tributes for three-year-old Noah Woods have today been left beside the playground where the little boy was last seen alive.
The tributes were placed next to the wooden fence of the play area after police announced they had found the body of a child in a nearby pond in Brantham, Suffolk.
Among more than 100 bouquets were touching messages, teddy bears, model cars and Bluey toys in recognition of one of the youngster’s favourite cartoon characters.
One message next to a cuddly toy read: ‘Little Noah, May you rest in eternal peace. You will remain in the hearts of the village and all your friends forever. Shine bright XX’
Another message said ‘We didn’t know you but we helped to find you. RIP little man’ while a sticker on a bouquet read ‘You have touched so many hearts. RIP’
There were also personal notes left in envelopes for Noah’s family and a message attached to a Bluey butterflies book, saying: ‘I am so sorry Noah that we were not close enough to you last night. Sleep tight angel boy.’
Noah Woods, three, had been at a playground in Brantham, Suffolk
The toddler disappeared after running from the play area, where a relative had accompanied him
More than 100 bouquets have been left by the playground, as well as messages and toys
The vulnerable youngster is said to have run away from a relative at 2.37pm on Tuesday after he had been taken to an under-fives playground in Merriam Close, Brantham.
The relative was unable to catch him as he headed down an alleyway beside the playground, heading down towards woodland and a large pond.
Noah, who was non-verbal, partially deaf and undergoing tests for autism, then vanished without trace.
Hundreds of villagers spent Tuesday night searching the village and local farmland for him, alongside teams of police, Coastguards and firefighters after the alarm was raised.
Police estimated that 1,300 members of the public had flocked to the village beside the River Stour estuary to resume the search for him yesterday.
The search by volunteers was co-ordinated by Brantham parish council which used the village hall and leisure centre as hubs to organise the effort.
But the hunt for Noah who had curly ginger hair and was wearing a white Bluey T-shirt, ended in tragedy yesterday afternoon when police divers recovered a body from the so-called Decoy Pond in the village.
Divers found a body of a child in nearby Decoy Pond yesterday afternoon
Pictures released by police showed Noah’s last movements
The pond which measures around 150 yards across is on a track connected to the alleyway which Noah ran down and around 300 yards from the playground where he had been.
Suffolk Police last night said Noah’s family had been informed that the body of a child had been found, although formal identification still had to take place.
But they confirmed this morning a file was due to be passed to the coroner.Â
Volunteers who had been hoping to find Noah alive were left devastated with some in tears as the news was revealed at around 5.40pm.
Superintendent Tom Pearse of Suffolk Police said the death was being treated as unexplained but not suspicious.
A number of villagers left candles at the scene beside the playground after darkness fell last night.
