An inquest into the death of three-year-old Noah Woods has been told the non-verbal toddler squeezed through a gap in a playground fence before heading for a pond while a relative tried to call him back.
At the hearing held at Suffolk Coroner’s Court in Ipswich, Detective Chief Inspector Matthew Connick told how on September 15 in Brantham, Suffolk, CCTV was triggered by motion to show Noah playing with a relative at an under-fives play area in Merriam Close but suddenly leaving through a gap in the fencing that protected the memorial garden area.
Noah then left through an open gate, run down a residential pathway, down the Decoy Pond.
The court was told the relative ran after the boy and shouted after him, but then apparently lost sight of him after 200 metres.The disappearance sparked a massive community search effort from local police, search-and-rescue teams and an estimated 1,300 volunteers.
Diving officers from the Metropolitan Police recovered Noah’s body on Saturday afternoon after a 24-hour search.
He was found in Decoy Pond, in the water close to the roots of a tree, about five metres from the edge of the pond. Suffolk Police have said the death is not being treated as suspicious.
About the Inquest Ipswich assistant coroner Jyoti Gill opened and adjourned the hearing, saying that she and her colleagues would have the family “at heart”.
In a statement from the family, they said: “He was a happy, cheeky, playful and joyful young boy who was always trying to find new ways to communicate despite mild hearing loss, speech delay and an awaiting autism assessment.
