Family of missing Noah Woods, 3, 'blown away' as police issue update in Brantham

Family of missing Noah Woods, 3, 'blown away' as police issue update in Brantham The family of a missing toddler who disappeared from a Suffolk village have been 'blown away' - the police have issued an update to those helping the search The family of a missing toddler who disappeared from a Suffolk village have been "blown away" by the support from hundreds of volunteers who have joined the search for the three-year-old. Noah Woods was last seen at a playground in Merriam Close, Brantham, on Tuesday afternoon before he ran down a nearby alleyway. He is non-verbal and partially deaf and will not respond to his name being called. Superintendent Tom Pearse, from Suffolk Police, updated journalists at Brantham Leisure Centre in an official statement on camera on Wednesday afternoon. After speaking to the media, he told volunteers gathered at the site: "I give my heartfelt thanks to all of you coming out here today. From what I have seen, it is an unbelievably special community. "You have demonstrated that by the way you have all come together. I want to pass on the thanks of Noah’s family. They are unbelievably grateful and blown away by your support." Volunteer Rebecca Lucas, 46, said "everybody’s come together to try and do what they can". The theatre production company worker, of Manningtree, Essex, said: "I’ve got two children, I’ve got a seven-year-old and a three-year-old, and obviously this hits quite close to home with Noah being three. "I think, within the local community, everyone’s really close-knit and it just touches at the heart strings. Everybody just wants to get involved and see if there’s anything we can do rather than just sit at home." Ms Lucas attended a briefing at the village hall earlier on Wednesday, where she was given an area to search. She scoured fields and the area around a local church for "anything that could possibly give us a clue", but said they had not found anything yet. She said she will be here "as long as they need us". Sharon Auton, 60, said she went out to help as soon as she saw the news on social media on Tuesday afternoon. The foster carer, of Brantham, said it was "amazing how much the community has got together over this". She said that at the village hall people were split into groups, given maps and sent to search different areas. She said she wanted to "help find this little boy", adding: "It’s just tragic he’s been lost, I’m hoping he will be found safe and well."