Police have cordoned off a lake and an industrial estate as the major search for missing three-year-old Noah continues in Suffolk. Noah disappeared after becoming separated from a relative in Merriam Close, Brantham, at around 3pm on Tuesday 15 September. Police believe he ran down an alleyway beside a playground towards a new-build housing estate. The search has now focused on several areas south of the playground, including the industrial estate along Factory Lane, where police vehicles have been deployed and cordons established.
Decoy Pond cordoned off
Police have also cordoned off Decoy Pond, while an adjoining wooded area has been declared out of bounds to members of the public as specialist searches continue. The operation has involved specially trained officers, police dogs, helicopters from the National Police Air Service and HM Coastguard, Suffolk Fire and Rescue Service, Suffolk Lowland Search and Rescue and large numbers of volunteers. Noah is described as white with curly ginger hair. He was wearing a white Bluey T-shirt, shorts and black Vans trainers with a white stripe when he disappeared. Police say Noah is non-verbal, has partial hearing loss and is undergoing an assessment for autism. Because of his vulnerabilities, officers have warned that he will not respond to his name, making the search particularly challenging.
Thousands join search
The community response has been described as “absolutely phenomenal”, with Brantham Parish Council chairman Mal Bridgeman saying hundreds of people — with some estimates putting the number into the thousands — joined the search overnight. He described seeing the lights from volunteers’ mobile phones illuminating fields around the village as people searched for Noah. Police are asking residents to thoroughly check gardens, sheds, outbuildings and anywhere a small child could hide. People with CCTV or doorbell cameras have been urged to review footage from 3pm on Tuesday onwards, while motorists who travelled through Brantham are being asked to check dashcam recordings. Anyone who believes they have seen Noah should call 999, quoting CAD 203 of 15 September.
Originally published by UKNIP.
