DESPERATE SEARCH ENTERS SECOND DAY FOR MISSING 3-YEAR-OLD NOAH — HUNDREDS JOIN RACE AGAINST TIME

Noah Woods disappeared from a Suffolk playground after becoming separated from a relative. As the search enters its second day, police and volunteers are scouring the area with no confirmed sighting of the little boy.

A desperate search for a missing three-year-old boy has entered a second day, with police, emergency crews and hundreds of members of the public continuing to search across a Suffolk community.

Noah Woods was last seen at around 3 p.m. on Tuesday, September 15, in Merriam Close, Brantham, near Manningtree. He had been visiting a playground with a relative when he became separated from them.

Police said Noah is believed to have run down an alleyway beside the playground towards a nearby new-build housing estate.

NO CONFIRMED SIGHTINGS

As the search continued into Wednesday morning, there had been no confirmed sightings of Noah.

Suffolk Police said they remain extremely concerned for the child’s welfare and are treating the search as urgent.

More than 100 members of the public had joined the operation by Tuesday evening, while volunteers and specialist search teams continued working alongside emergency services.

The response has spread well beyond Brantham, with volunteers travelling from other parts of the country to help.

Among those who joined the search were a mother and daughter who travelled around 150 miles from Birmingham after seeing appeals for help online.

 HELICOPTERS, DOGS AND SEARCH TEAMS DEPLOYED

The operation has involved a huge range of resources.

Police officers, specialist search teams, dogs, drones and helicopters have been deployed across the area. An HM Coastguard helicopter also joined the search on Tuesday.

Train services between Ipswich and Manningtree were slowed as police worked to protect the search area.

Officers have also been carrying out door-to-door inquiries and reviewing possible CCTV footage.

Police have urged residents to carefully check their gardens, sheds, garages and outbuildings, while anyone with CCTV or doorbell-camera footage has been asked to review recordings from around the time Noah disappeared.

 WHO IS NOAH?

Noah is described as a white three-year-old boy with curly ginger hair.

At the time he disappeared, he was wearing:

• A white Bluey T-shirt
• Shorts
• White trainers

Police have stressed that Noah is non-verbal and has partial hearing loss. He is also undergoing an assessment for autism.

Because of this, officers say he is unlikely to respond if someone calls his name.

That information has become particularly important to volunteers searching the area, who have been urged to look carefully rather than relying on calling out for him.

 A COMMUNITY REFUSES TO GIVE UP

The disappearance has brought a huge response from people in Brantham and surrounding communities.

Volunteers gathered at local facilities before being directed to different search areas. Specialist searchers also travelled from outside Suffolk to assist.

Brantham Parish Council said the community had been overwhelmed by the support, while emergency services continued their own search through the night.

Noah’s father, Rhys Woods, has also appealed for people to widen their search as the operation continues.

Police, meanwhile, have asked members of the public to coordinate with the official operation and avoid putting themselves in danger.

POLICE APPEAL FOR INFORMATION

Anyone who believes they may have seen Noah is being urged to contact Suffolk Police immediately.

Police have asked people to quote CAD 203 of September 15 when providing information.

Residents are also being urged to check private CCTV, doorbell cameras and dashcam footage that could help investigators establish Noah’s movements after he left the playground.

For now, the search continues.

A little boy has been missing since Tuesday afternoon.

And his family, police and hundreds of volunteers are still searching for one answer:

WHERE IS NOAH?