Three-year-old Noah Woods was last captured on CCTV at 2:37 p.m. on 15 September 2026 in the under-fives play area at Merriam Close in Brantham, Suffolk. He wore a white T-shirt printed with the cartoon character Bluey, shorts, and black trainers with a white stripe. He appeared happy and healthy as he ran and played near a merry-go-round while under the supervision of a relative during what was described as a normal routine outing.

Noah was partially deaf, non-verbal, and undergoing ᴀssessment for autism. He would not respond to his name being called. Within roughly 20 minutes of that final CCTV frame, he left the play area through a gap in an internal fence, entered a memorial garden, pᴀssed through an open gate, and ran along a path on a new housing estate toward Decoy Pond, an artificial fishing lake approximately 320 metres away.

A relative followed him, shouting after him and trying to keep pace, but lost sight after about 200 metres. Another man joined the search before police were contacted. The relative later provided a statement to investigators. Detective Chief Inspector Matthew Connick outlined the timeline at the opening of the inquest at Suffolk Coroner’s Court in Ipswich. ᴀssistant Coroner Jyoti Gill described the death as “very sad and tragic” before adjourning proceedings.

A mᴀssive search followed. At least 1,300 members of the public joined efforts, some travelling from as far as Birmingham and Hampshire. High-visibility vests ran out at the village hall and leisure centre coordination points. Support came from police helicopters, dog units, Suffolk HART, SULSAR, the Environment Agency, HM Coastguard, fire and ambulance services, and Metropolitan Police divers. Searches expanded to East Bergholt and Manningtree across the EsSєx border near the River Stour estuary.

The following afternoon, divers recovered Noah’s body approximately five metres from the pond’s edge, 1.8 metres underwater among submerged tree roots. Death was confirmed by paramedics at 4:31 p.m. His idenтιтy was formally confirmed by his mother, Charlie Peck, at Ipswich Hospital that evening. Police treated the death as unexplained but not suspicious. Further post-mortem examination was arranged at Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge.

Noah’s father, Rhys Woods, posted a public tribute confirming the body was their son. He wrote that there were no words to describe the pain of the loss and that the family was absolutely heartbroken. He described Noah as the sweetest and most innocent little boy, with nothing but love to give, and said they would miss him so very much. He thanked the nationwide response for taking Noah into people’s hearts, noted the family had hoped he was hiding somewhere obvious, and signed off from daddy, mummy, and little brother. He added that it had been a privilege to pack so much love into his short three years, that he would be loved forever and never forgotten, and that the compᴀssion shown by strangers had brought comfort.

An NHS trust later removed ten staff from duty after an investigation into possible inappropriate access to Noah’s medical records and issued an apology for the breach of trust. The case has prompted discussion about playground fencing standards, the particular vulnerabilities of non-verbal and autistic children near water, and the scale of community mobilisation that can occur in a short window when a toddler goes missing.

The 20-minute interval between the last clear CCTV sighting and the point at which Noah could no longer be seen by those following him remains central to the account. The route through the gap in the fence, the open gate, the path toward the housing estate, and the proximity of Decoy Pond are now established in the public record through police statements and the inquest opening. Family members have asked that Noah be remembered as the happy, cheeky, playful boy who loved to laugh and brought joy wherever he went.