What happened to Noah Woods? Timeline of 3-year-old Suffolk boy's disappearance and death

A UK inquest has heard how three-year-old Noah Woods slipped through a gap in a playground fence before he was later found dead in a Suffolk pond.

Published on: Sep 25, 2026, 23:29:32 IST

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Three-year-old Noah Woods went missing from Brantham, Suffolk, on September 15. He was later found dead in a nearby pond, an inquest heard. More than 1,300 people joined the search for Noah. His body was found the next day by police divers.

Assistant coroner Jyoti Gill called it a "very sad and tragic death" as she opened and then adjourned the inquest at Suffolk Coroner's Court in Ipswich, as per BBC.

How Noah went missing

Suffolk Police told the court that CCTV footage showed Noah in a play area being looked after by a relative, calling it “part of a normal routine,” as per Det Ch Insp Matt Connick's statement to BBC. Connick said Noah then “left through a gap in the fence leading to the memorial garden where he left through an open gate.”

After leaving the play area, Noah ran along a path on a nearby housing estate towards Decoy Pond, the inquest heard. A relative followed him and called out to him, but Noah went out of sight shortly after. Another man then joined the search before police were called.

Brantham Parish Council, which looks after the play area at Merriam Close, said it was "deeply saddened by Noah's death" and that its "thoughts remain with his family and all those affected at this extremely difficult time," according to a statement.

The council said there was a break in the internal fencing being built to separate the play area from the memorial garden. However, it said the whole area was “completely enclosed by appropriate perimeter fencing.”

Body found in Decoy Pond

According to BBC, at least 1,300 people joined the search for Noah within 24 hours of him going missing. Helicopters, dog units, and members of the public searched the area near the River Stour on the Suffolk-Essex border.

During the search, Noah's father, Rhys Woods, posted on a Facebook group asking search teams to stay away from the Decoy Pond area. He wrote, "could we ask for search parties to not enter the decoy pond area, this has been searched thoroughly since mid afternoon, Also the amount of bodies makes it hard to pick up the infra red signal we need."

Divers from the Metropolitan Police searched Decoy Pond on September 16 in the area where Noah was last seen.

His body was found five meters from the edge of the pond, caught in submerged tree roots at a depth of 1.8 meters.

Connick told the court that paramedics confirmed Noah's death at 16:31 BST. His mother formally identified him at Ipswich Hospital later that evening.

A post-mortem examination was carried out at Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge. The court was told this "requires further investigation" before the final cause of death can be confirmed. Police are not treating Noah's death as suspicious.

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