Toddler Noah Woods’ father pays tribute to ‘sweetest and most innocent boy’
Rhys Woods expressed his gratitude to all those who helped search for his son.
Last updated 17th Sep 2026
The father of a three-year-old boy who was found dead following a huge search has paid tribute to his son as the “sweetest and most innocent little boy, with nothing but love to give”.
Noah Woods became separated from a relative after visiting a playground in Merriam Close, Brantham on Tuesday afternoon, Suffolk Police said.
Around 1,300 members of the public joined a search to find the toddler, who police said was non-verbal and partially deaf.
Helicopters, the coastguard, fire and rescue service, lowland search and rescue volunteers and other agencies also joined police in the search.
More than 24 hours after his disappearance, police confirmed late on Wednesday afternoon that dive teams had recovered a child’s body from a lake known locally as Decoy Pond.
On Thursday, Noah’s father Rhys Woods paid tribute to his son in a message shared on a community Facebook group.
He wrote: “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.”
He said that Noah will be loved forever and never forgotten, adding: “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.”
He extended a “heartfelt thank you to everyone … who came together to search for our boy”.
“It seems he has made an impact across the whole nation,” he said, adding that people appeared to have taken him into their own hearts “with all the overwhelming help”.
He continued: “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.”
He signed off his post: “With our love and deepest gratitude, from his daddy and mummy and little brother”.
Police have confirmed that the body of a child found in Brantham following searches for a missing boy has been identified as Noah Woods.
The discovery of the body is being treated as not suspicious but unexplained and the coroner will be informed, the force said on Wednesday.
Superintendent Tom Pearse said: “I want to once again extend our thoughts and deepest sympathy to Noah’s family and thank them for their patience and understanding throughout the searches.
“It was clear from the media coverage we saw that they not only had all of Suffolk behind them, but an outpouring of goodwill from across the entire country and beyond.
“I know how grateful Noah’s family are for all the support and kind messages they have received, but would reiterate our plea to now allow them the time, space and privacy they need at this deeply distressing time.
“I would like to express my thanks again to everyone that provided help and support over an intense 24-hour period of the search. This includes all of our officers and staff, along with the numerous emergency services colleagues and volunteers from SULSAR.
“Finally, I cannot pay tribute enough to the response from the local community and people who travelled from further afield to assist with the search for Noah.
“Help was provided in a number of ways – the vast majority were out searching the village and surrounding area, but there were also people coordinating the volunteers, along with those who ensured the facilities were available and open, while others provided food and drink or directed traffic.
“This was a case where the people of Suffolk rallied together and showed the county at its best in what transpired to be the most tragic of circumstances.”