A page has been created to support the family of a missing three-year-old after he was found dead on Wednesday afternoon.
Family, friends and local residents of Brantham paid tribute to the baby. (Image: Humphrey Nemar)
A fundraising page set up for Noah Woods’ family has received more than £82,000 in donations from thousands of supporters.
On Wednesday evening (September 16), the body of a three-year-old boy was found in a pond near the playground from which he disappeared on Tuesday afternoon (September 15). Around 1,300 members of the public volunteered to help search for the boy in the Suffolk village of Brantham, along with special police search teams and other emergency services.
Met Police divers recovered his body from the bait pond and he was formally identified on Thursday. Suffolk Police said his death is not being treated as suspicious.
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The Good Dads Club, a community of dads based in Colchester, Essex, has set up a JustGiving page to support the family and give them the opportunity to “take time off from work to grieve without the added stress of financial worries.” The page has so far received over £82,000 in donations from over 5,000 people.
A statement from the Good Dads Club said: “We had hoped to raise a modest amount to give to the Woods family when the time came, but what we did not plan for was the overwhelming avalanche of kindness, compassion and empathy from thousands upon thousands of you, all with the common goal of helping Noah’s poor family.
“We have created a page, but this is absolutely not about us, we are here to shine a light on the wonderful community of people who have come together to help find Noah, offer support to the Woods family and incredible donations that will be able to provide some financial assistance to help them through an incredibly difficult period of grief.
“The Woods family have been informed of the fundraising and are incredibly grateful for everyone’s generosity, but we think we can continue and raise as much as possible for them.”
On Thursday, Noah’s father Reece Woods paid tribute to his son in a message posted to a community Facebook group. He wrote: “There are no words to describe the pain of this loss, we are all heartbroken, Noah was the sweetest and most innocent little boy with nothing to give but love and we will miss him dearly.”
He said Noah will be loved forever and never forgotten, adding, “It was an honor to be your parents and to be able to accumulate so much love in the short three years you were with us.”
He expressed his “heartfelt thanks to everyone… who came together to find our boy.”
The fundraiser can be found here.
