NEW CCTV REVEALS NOAH WOODS’ LAST KNOWN MOVEMENTS — THEN POLICE MADE A DEVASTATING DISCOVERY AT THE LAKE

The heartbreaking search for three-year-old Noah Woods took a devastating turn after police released CCTV showing his final known movements before a child’s body was discovered in nearby Decoy Pond.

For more than 24 hours, the small Suffolk community of Brantham had been united by one desperate mission — finding three-year-old Noah Woods.

Police, emergency crews and more than 1,300 members of the public joined the search after the little boy disappeared from a playground.

Then, on Wednesday afternoon, the search took a tragic turn.

THE LAST KNOWN IMAGE OF NOAH

Suffolk Police released CCTV footage showing Noah at the Merriam Close playground at 2:37 p.m. on Tuesday, September 15.

The footage became a crucial part of the investigation into his disappearance.

Police said Noah had become separated from a relative after visiting the playground and was believed to have run down an alleyway beside the play area toward a nearby new-build housing estate.

The surrounding area included woodland, open water and railway lines, prompting a huge specialist search.

A LITTLE BOY WITH PARTICULAR VULNERABILITIES

Noah was described as non-verbal, with partial hearing loss, and was undergoing an assessment for autism.

Police said this meant he was unlikely to respond if people called his name.

He had curly ginger hair and was wearing a white Bluey T-shirt, shorts and black Vans trainers with a white stripe.

Those details were repeatedly shared as officers urged residents to check gardens, sheds, outbuildings, CCTV, doorbell cameras and dashcam footage.

HUNDREDS — THEN MORE THAN 1,300 — JOINED THE SEARCH

What followed was an enormous community response.

Police specialist search officers and dog units were deployed alongside helicopters, HM Coastguard, Suffolk Fire & Rescue Service and Suffolk Lowland Search & Rescue.

Members of the public also turned out in huge numbers.

By Wednesday, police said more than 1,300 people had supported the search.

The operation covered roads, woodland, open areas and waterways around Brantham.

Specialist teams were brought in to search areas where members of the public were asked not to enter, particularly open water and railway lines.

THEN POLICE TURNED THEIR ATTENTION TO DECOY POND

Decoy Pond became one of the key areas in the search.

Police cordoned off the area and specialist diving teams were brought in to search the water.

Earlier CCTV had shown Noah’s movements heading away from the playground in the direction of the nearby water.

The search continued throughout Wednesday as officers examined the area and reviewed available footage.

THE NEWS NO ONE WANTED TO HEAR

Later that afternoon, Suffolk Police confirmed that a child’s body had been recovered from Decoy Pond.

Superintendent Tom Pearse said formal identification had not yet taken place, but Noah’s family had been informed.

Police said the discovery was being treated as “not suspicious but unexplained.”

The news was delivered to volunteers gathered at Brantham Leisure Centre.

Many were left in tears as the enormous search operation reached its devastating moment.

A FATHER WHO REFUSED TO GIVE UP

Before the discovery, Noah’s father, Rhys Woods, had made an emotional appeal for people to continue searching.

He pleaded with volunteers not to give up on his little boy.

His message captured the desperation of a father facing another night without knowing where his child was.

Now, Noah’s family has been asked for privacy as authorities continue the formal identification process and work to establish exactly what happened.

A COMMUNITY LEFT HEARTBROKEN

The response in Brantham had been extraordinary.

People brought supplies, opened buildings, searched streets and fields and joined coordinated efforts alongside emergency services.

Superintendent Pearse, visibly emotional during his update, thanked the volunteers and said police had been overwhelmed by the public response.

But the atmosphere that had been filled with hope was transformed by the discovery at Decoy Pond.

For Noah’s family, the search for their little boy has entered a heartbreaking new chapter.

And while police have said the circumstances are not currently considered suspicious, important questions remain unanswered.

Noah was only three years old.

A little boy who disappeared from a playground — leaving an entire community searching desperately for him.

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