NEW CCTV SHOWS NOAH WOODS’ LAST KNOWN MOVEMENTS BEFORE BODY WAS FOUND IN POND

Newly released CCTV footage has shown the last known movements of three-year-old Noah Woods shortly before he disappeared from a playground in Brantham, Suffolk.

The footage, released by Suffolk Police during the search on September 16, showed Noah playing at the Merriam Close playground at around 2:37 p.m., roughly 20 minutes before he was last seen.

Noah had been visiting the playground with a relative when he became separated from them. Police said he then ran down an alleyway beside the play area toward a nearby housing development and Decoy Pond, a fishing lake close to the playground.

CCTV BECAME A KEY PART OF THE SEARCH

As the search intensified, officers asked residents to check doorbell cameras, private CCTV systems and dashcam footage for any possible sightings of Noah.

Specialist police teams, search dogs, helicopters, HM Coastguard, Suffolk Fire & Rescue Service and other emergency agencies were deployed. Around 1,300 members of the public also joined the effort.

Police subsequently focused significant resources around Decoy Pond, with specialist divers brought in to search the water.

At the time, officers said the investigation was being treated as a missing-person case and urged members of the public not to enter dangerous areas such as open water or railway lines themselves.

BODY RECOVERED FROM DECOY POND

On the afternoon of September 16, Metropolitan Police dive officers recovered the body of a child from Decoy Pond.

Suffolk Police initially described the discovery as not suspicious but unexplained, while formal identification was pending. The following day, the force confirmed that the child was Noah Woods.

Police said Noah’s death is not being treated as suspicious, although officers still have inquiries to complete before submitting a file to the coroner.

The discovery brought an end to an intense 24-hour search that had drawn people from across the local community and beyond.

A FATHER’S HEARTBREAKING TRIBUTE

Following the confirmation, Noah’s father, Rhys Woods, paid tribute to his son.

He described Noah as the “sweetest and most innocent little boy” and said the family was “absolutely heartbroken” by the loss.

Rhys also thanked the huge number of people who had joined the search, saying the family had been overwhelmed by the support as everyone tried to bring Noah home safely.

Tributes, teddy bears and Bluey-themed items were later left near the playground where Noah was last seen.

For a family that had spent hours hoping for a safe reunion, the CCTV footage now forms part of the final known timeline of Noah’s short life — from the playground to the nearby pond where he was ultimately found.