The father of a missing three-year-old boy has urged the public to continue the search as he “cannot go another night knowing he is there alone”.
At 5am, local authorities said three-year-old Noah Woods, who is non-verbal and partially deaf, had not been seen since he disappeared from a playground in Suffolk yesterday.
Noah is believed to have run away from his grandfather from a playground in Brantham village and disappeared down a lane at 3pm on Tuesday.
Residents were urged to check their gardens, sheds and outbuildings, and those with CCTV cameras or doorbells were asked to view the footage.
This morning police cordoned off the footpath next to the playground while a helicopter hovered overhead and circled the area.
Hundreds of volunteers have also converged on the tiny village as the search enters its second day.
Publication in FacebookNoah’s father Reece Woods said emergency services believe his young son is no longer in the immediate vicinity of the playground where he disappeared.
He asked the public to “please don’t give up on him” and continue searching, telling them “he’s out there somewhere.”
Noah, who has mild autism and is unlikely to respond to being called by name, was described as white with curly red hair. When he went missing, he was wearing a Bluey shirt, shorts and white sneakers.
The alley he disappeared into leads to a new housing development, a local pond and a train line.
“We still have nothing, all the emergency services and all of you have shown how strong this community is, which also has people coming from all over the world,” Mr Woods wrote.
Hundreds of members of the public have joined the search for three-year-old Noah Woods, who went missing after visiting a playground in Suffolk.
Members of the public have come to the aid of police as the search for Noah continues throughout the village of Brantham.
Noah disappeared after being separated from a relative in Merriam Close, Brantham, on Tuesday afternoon.
Emergency services are searching the Brantham area in an attempt to find him, with residents being urged to check their gardens, sheds and outbuildings.
This morning police cordoned off the footpath next to the playground while a helicopter hovered overhead and circled the area.
“Emergency services are confident that all high-risk areas (bait pond, railway tracks) are clear.
“This means that knowing that our boy has gone even further, may I ask all of you brilliant people here today to expand further if you can?
“I can’t go another night knowing he’s there alone, please don’t give up on him guys. He’s out there somewhere and I appreciate each and every one of you.”
Noah’s great uncle, Tony Malcolm, who was part of the search party, described him as a “lovely little child”.
Volunteer searchers were briefed at the village council this morning by parish secretary Sarah Keyes, who told them: “Please remember we are looking for a frightened three-year-old boy.”
Ms Keyes said about 500 people stayed up all night as they continued to search for Noah.
The village hall remained open all night, and The council also printed hundreds of maps for volunteers to use in their search.
Ms Keyes said: “At one point there were about 1,000 people there. I think the locals just feel empty. Everyone just wants to come together and help.”
Suffolk Police and Crime Commissioner Tim Passmore urged those joining the ongoing search not to go out alone and to take guidance from those organizing the response.
Speaking to BBC Radio Suffolk, he said his “thoughts and prayers” go out to Noah Woods’ friends and family.
He said: “I really hope that in time we can get some good news. I can’t think of anything worse than a poor three-year-old boy who went missing and wasn’t found.”
Dozens of local residents gathered at the village hall from 8.30am in the hope of receiving instructions from police on where to look, but many decided to leave on their own before a senior officer arrived to talk to them.
Ms Keyes told the crowd: “I know your feet are itching to go and look for this little boy. We just want to find him.
About 200 local residents who arrived at the building around 9:30 a.m. were divided into two groups: the more prepared were tasked with searching the muddy roads and fields, while the rest were ordered to concentrate on the paved areas of the village.
Members of the search and rescue team continue to search for Noah near Merriam Close
EPA officials join police as they continue to search for Noah
Noah’s father Reece Woods (pictured) asked the public to “please don’t give up on him” and keep searching, telling them “he’s out there somewhere.”
Yesterday a coastguard helicopter circled the village, near the mouth of the River Stour.
And passengers on trains between Manningtree and Ipswich were told their speeds would be reduced as a result of the searches.
Volunteers from Suffolk Lowlands Search and Rescue used a boat to search for the bait pond, a local beauty spot that Noah was seen running towards.
Police canine units joined the search overnight and thermal imaging cameras were deployed.
Shortly before midnight, the volunteers who joined the hunt were ordered to go home for the night and rest, but many remained outside.
In a Facebook post just after 5am on Wednesday, Brantham Parish Council said there had been no confirmed sightings of Noah.
“The search for Noah continues this morning,” the report said.
“If you can help with the search today, please take care and stay safe.
“Where possible, search in pairs, wear reflective clothing and take extra care on roads, near water, in woods and in other potentially hazardous areas. Please bring a fully charged mobile phone with you.
“Please also check your property thoroughly, including gardens, sheds, garages, outbuildings, vehicles and under or behind furniture.
“If police ask you to leave an area, please follow their instructions. This can be done in order to ensure that specialists can carry out search activities.”
Brantham Parish Council last night wrote on his Facebook page: “We have been completely overwhelmed by the support we have received from the Brantham community and from visitors from around the world and we extend our thanks to the emergency services and all the volunteers who joined the search.”
– The Village Hall will be open all night, with toilets and refreshments available if you need them.
“Emergency services will continue to search throughout the night.”
The search continues in the dark for three-year-old Noah, who went missing in Brantham.
The volunteers who had joined the hunt were now ordered to go home for the night and rest.
Last night one policeman manning the cordon urged the public to let officers do their jobs.
He told the Harwich and Manningtree Standard: “We were given information and we want to find this fragment along with our commands now that we have commands.
“You have dog teams looking for any signs and then we do thermal imaging throughout the wooded area.
“It’s more difficult for members of the public at this time of night with that kind of lighting – we want to make sure we can do that with all the equipment we have.”
“The more people we have there [in the woodland] the more difficult it will be for us, especially with scents – if there is a smell, a trace or something like that, we don’t want it to change in any way.
“If there are people there, thermal imaging will pick them up, as opposed to our goal of finding the little guy.”
Suffolk Police said anyone with information about Noah’s whereabouts should contact them.
They said: “Police are appealing for help to find a missing three-year-old boy in Brantham.
“Noah was last seen at approximately 3 p.m. [on] Tuesday, September 15, when he became separated from a relative after visiting the playground in Merriam Close.
“Noah was reported to have fled down an alley next to the playground towards a new housing development.
“Noah is described as white with curly red hair. He’s wearing a white Bluey T-shirt, shorts and white sneakers.”
An HM Coastguard spokesman said: “We are assisting Suffolk Police with the incident in Brantham by dispatching an HM Coastguard helicopter and Coastguard rescue teams from Felixstowe and Holbrook.”