NOAH DISAPPEARED IN MINUTES. 1,300 PEOPLE SEARCHED FOR HIM. THEN POLICE FOUND HIM IN DECOY POND.

Three-year-old Noah Woods was last seen near a playground in Brantham, Suffolk.

What followed was a desperate race against time.

For more than 24 hours, around 1,300 people joined the search, alongside police officers, dogs, helicopters, firefighters, coastguard crews, specialist volunteers and Metropolitan Police divers.

Everyone was looking for the same thing:

A way to bring Noah home alive.

Then specialist divers entered Decoy Pond.

A child’s body was recovered.

Police have now formally confirmed the identity.

It was Noah Woods.

Noah disappeared at around 2:37 p.m. on September 15, after becoming separated from a relative. CCTV showed him running down an alleyway before disappearing from sight.

The search expanded rapidly across Brantham as emergency services and members of the public searched streets, fields and waterways.

More than a day later, the search ended at the pond.

Suffolk Constabulary says Noah’s death is not being treated as suspicious, although the circumstances remain unexplained and further enquiries are continuing for the coroner.

His father, Rhys Woods, described his son as “the sweetest and most innocent little boy.”

The playground where Noah was last seen has now become a memorial, with flowers, toys and messages left by people mourning the three-year-old.

Thousands searched for Noah. One discovery ended the search — and broke the hearts of everyone waiting for him to come home.