@c5news: "He has made an impact across the whole nation, you have all taken Noah into you’re own hearts." The dad of Noah Woods has spoken about the "privilege" of raising him and how the three-year-old "will be loved forever" after the body of a child was recovered from a pond on Wednesday near where he went missing. Noah disappeared from a playground in Brantham, Suffolk, at about 3pm on Tuesday after becoming separated from a relative. He was last seen running down an alleyway that led towards the pond. At least 1,300 people, some from as far afield as Birmingham and Hampshire, are said to have joined the search for Noah before police announced on Wednesday afternoon that a child's body had been recovered from Decoy Pond. Writing on Facebook, Rhys Woods said his son was "the sweetest and most innocent little boy, with nothing but love to give, and we are going to miss him so very much". "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," Mr Woods explained. Speaking about the community effort to find his son, Mr Woods said: "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." He extended a "heartfelt thank you to everyone in our community (even far and wide) who came together to search for our boy", adding: "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." Ending his post, Mr Woods wrote: "With our love and deepest gratitude, from his daddy and mummy and little brother, Noah, you will be loved forever, you will never be forgotten and we miss you so so much, 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. #5news #noah #missingperson

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Thursday 17 September 2026 17:17:58 GMT