Three-year-old Noah Woods escaped a play area through a gap in a fence before his body was found in a lake, an inquest has heard. The child had become separated from a relative after visiting the playground, Suffolk Police had previously said.
Around 1,300 members of the public desperately searched for the toddler, who police said was non-verbal, partially deaf and had been undergoing an assessment for autism. Met Police divers recovered his body from a lake, known locally as Decoy Pond, on September 16, the day after he went missing. Suffolk Police said they were not treating the death as suspicious.
Inquest hears details of Noah's final moments
An inquest into Noah’s death was opened and adjourned in Ipswich on Friday. Detective Chief Inspector Matthew Connick told the hearing that on September 15, Noah, of East Bergholt, Suffolk, was being “looked after by relatives and this was part of a normal routine for Noah”.
He said they walked to an under-fives play area and CCTV footage in the park “showed Noah playing with his relative”. The first CCTV footage was timed at 2.13pm and he was last seen playing at 2.37pm, said Mr Connick, who added the CCTV “is motion-activated so doesn’t provide continuous footage”. The relative, who was not named at the hearing, had provided a statement to police.
The officer said Noah “left through a gap in the fence leading to the memorial garden where he left through an open gate”. He said Noah went in the direction of Decoy Pond and he was “being closely followed by his relative who was trying to keep up with him”. The relative “shouted after him”, but after 200 metres Noah could not be seen.
Search and recovery at Decoy Pond
“Police were called and a large-scale search operation began,” Mr Connick said. He said Noah was found by a Met Police diver “approximately five metres from the bank and within submerged tree roots”. The depth was estimated at 1.8 metres at that point.
A post-mortem examination at Addenbrooke’s Hospital mortuary in Cambridge recorded his medical cause of death as pending further investigation, Mr Connick said. Noah’s death was confirmed at 4.31pm by paramedics and his identity was formally confirmed by his mother Charlie Peck at Ipswich Hospital that evening.
Assistant coroner for Suffolk Jyoti Gill said at the outset of the hearing, which was not attended by family: “I would like to express my deepest condolences to Noah’s family and friends and all those affected by Noah’s death.” At the end of the six-minute hearing, she said: “The inquest is adjourned to a date to be fixed in due course. Once again, my deepest condolences.”
Family tribute and public response
Noah's father Rhys Woods paid tribute to his son in a message shared on a community Facebook group. He wrote: "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."
He added: "It seems he has made an impact across the whole nation, you have all taken Noah into you're own hearts, with all the overwhelming help, we were all just trying to bring him home to us safe and sound." Rhys thanked everyone who was involved in the search for the toddler, saying their "compassion" will never be forgotten and that the tragedy has brought "comfort and strength at the darkest time of our lives".
Volunteers gathered to help with the search were brought to tears when police broke the news that a body had been found and that Noah's family had been told.
