The inquest into the death of three-year-old Noah Woods has heard he escaped a play area through a gap in the fence before his body was found in a lake. Noah was reported missing on the afternoon of Tuesday, September 15, with police describing the little boy as non-verbal and partially deaf.
Major search in Brantham
Around 1,300 members of the public joined the effort to find Noah in Brantham, Suffolk. Officers said he had become separated from a member of his family before heading in the direction of a lake known as Decoy Pond. Helicopters, the coastguard, fire and rescue service, lowland search and rescue volunteers and other agencies also joined police in the search. The following day, police confirmed that Noah's body had been recovered from Decoy Pond.
Inquest opened at Ipswich Coroner's Court
Coroner Jyoti Gill opened the inquest at Ipswich Coroner's Court on September 25. Suffolk Police previously said Noah's death was not being treated as suspicious, but enquiries were ongoing prior to the inquest.
Father's tribute
In a Facebook post on a local community group following his son's death, Noah's father Rhys Woods said: "As I’m sure you have all seen, the body that was found in Decoy Pond is our little Noah. There are no words to describe the pain of this loss, we are all absolutely heartbroken, Noah was the sweetest and most innocent little boy, with nothing but love to give, and we are going to miss him so very much."
Rhys said Noah will be loved forever and never forgotten, adding: "It has been a privilege to be your parents and be able to have packed so much love in the short three years you were with us." He extended a "heartfelt thank-you to everyone… who came together to search for our boy". "It seems he has made an impact across the whole nation," he said. Rhys added that people appeared to have taken him into their own hearts "with all the overwhelming help".
He continued: "The compassion shown by all of you will never be forgotten by us, and brought us comfort and strength at the darkest time of our lives. This was the most heartbreaking outcome for us, we were just hoping that he would be hiding somewhere obvious where someone could find him, that’s what we kept telling ourselves the whole time." He signed off his post: "With our love and deepest gratitude, from his daddy and mummy and little brother."
A GoFundMe page for Noah's family has so far raised more than £113,000.
