Overview
- Noah Woods became separated from a relative in Merriam Close, Brantham and CCTV shows he left a play area through a gap in the fence before being last seen on September 15 heading down an alleyway.
- Thousands of local people and volunteers from other cities, including Birmingham and Basingstoke, joined a multi-day public search for the boy.
- On September 16 Metropolitan Police Underwater and Confined Space unit divers recovered Noah’s body from Decoy Pond after finding him submerged beneath tree roots in water measured at 1.8 metres.
- At an inquest opened on September 25 coroner Jyoti Gill heard Detective Chief Inspector Matthew Connick read the CCTV timeline and scene details, and police said the death is not being treated as suspicious.
- Noah’s family paid tribute saying he was being assessed for autism and had mild hearing loss and speech delay, and the coroner’s fact-finding process will establish the full circumstances of his death without making criminal findings.