Father of Noah Woods pays tribute to ‘most innocent little boy’ after missing three-year-old found dead

The father of Noah Woods has paid tribute to him as “the sweetest and most innocent little boy” after a body was discovered close to where the toddler went missing.

A desperate search had been launched for Noah after he was reported missing after being separated from a relative near a playground in Brantham, Suffolk, on Tuesday afternoon.

Writing on Facebook on Thursday, his 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.

“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.”

More than 1000 people turned out to help find Noah, who vanished after he ran down an alleyway.

Suffolk Police superintendent Tom Pearse said that the body of a child had been discovered in a nearby pond and that Noah’s family had been informed. The discovery was being treated as unexplained but not suspicious, he said.

Mr Woods thanked volunteers and authorities, 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.

“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.”