Hundreds of volunteers have joined an urgent search for a missing three-year-old boy who vanished from a village playground in Sussex.
Noah Woods, 3, was at the park on Merriam Close in Brantham with a relative when he “became separated” from them around 3pm on Tuesday, 15 September, according to Suffolk Police. Officers said the autistic, non-verbal toddler with partial hearing loss ran off down an alleyway beside the playground toward a new-build housing estate.
Police said that Noah would not respond to his name if called. He is described as white with curly ginger hair, and was wearing a white t-shirt featuring the TV character Bluey, shorts and white trainers when he disappeared.
More than 100 locals were out searching for Noah on Tuesday night, reports said. A helicopter was spotted flying overhead near the estuary of the River Stour and close to the Essex border, while train passengers between Manningtree and Ipswich were told services would run at reduced speed because of the ongoing searches.
Superintendent Pete Partridge urged residents to check their properties thoroughly.
“We ask local residents to please check their outbuildings, gardens and sheds, and report any sightings to police on 999,” he said.
Parish clerk Sarah Keys told the East Anglian Daily Times the community was working to maximize coverage of the area.
“We are trying to get people to check their ring doorbell. We’ve got most of the village covered,” she said.
Keys continued: “What I am saying now is feet on the ground. Walk around the village and hope he pops out in front of you. Talk to as many people as you can and find out what they know. I am imagining he is very scared.”
One resident who joined the search said: “We are just praying that he might have got tired and be curled up somewhere asleep.”
HM Coastguard confirmed aerial and ground support had been deployed. A spokesman said: “We are assisting Suffolk Constabulary with an incident at Brantham by sending an HM Coastguard helicopter and Coastguard Rescue Teams from Felixstowe and Holbrook.”
As night fell, volunteers who had offered to help were told to stand down so emergency services could focus their efforts. The Brantham Parish Council wrote on its Facebook page that the Village Hall would remain open overnight with toilet facilities and drinks for anyone who needed them.
In a follow-up post, the council emphasized that police would not be standing down.
“Just to be absolutely clear, the police will not be standing down. They will continue their searches throughout the night,” the council wrote. “We have been asked to encourage members of the public who have been out searching to stand down for tonight, go home and get some much-needed rest. It’s important the energy of the emergency services is fully focused on Noah’s search. We have been overwhelmed by the way the community has once again come together for our village and we will continue the search tomorrow unless there is good news in the night.”
Anyone with information is asked to contact Suffolk police, quoting CAD 203 of 15 September.