Noah Woods: Heartbroken dad of missing toddler, 3, pays tribute to 'innocent boy'

Noah Woods: Heartbroken dad of missing toddler, 3, pays tribute to 'innocent boy' The three-year-old's dad Rhys Woods has left an emotional message on Facebook where he says 'there are no words to describe the pain of this loss' The dad of Noah Woods has said his son will be "loved forever" in a heartbreaking message following the discovery of a child's body in a pond near where the three-year-old was last seen. Hundreds of volunteers as well as teams from the police, fire, coastguard and search and rescue had joined the desperate hunt for the toddler, who vanished after running from a play area in Brantham, Suffolk on Tuesday afternoon. In an update yesterday, Superintendent Tom Pearse from Suffolk police said that the body of a child had been discovered in nearby Decoy Pond. Now Noah's dad Rhys Woods has left an emotional tribute on Facebook where he confirmed that it was his son's body that had been found and said he and Noah's family had been desperately hoping the youngster had "just been hiding". 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. "It seems he has made an impact across the whole nation, you have all taken Noah into you’re own hearts, with all the overwhelming help, we were all just trying to bring him home to us safe and sound." Rhys also thanked everyone who was involved in the search for the toddler saying the "compassion" will never be forgotten and it has brought "comfort and strength at the darkest time of our lives". He stated: "A heartfelt thank you to everyone in our community (even far and wide) who came together to search for our boy, including: "Suffolk, Norfolk, Met police forces, HM coastguard, Suffolk lowland, Fire service, Ambulance service, RTT catering, brantham leisure centre, Brantham village hall, local businesses, ST Michael’s church, private K-9 units, and so many more, and all of the people who gave up their time in their busy schedules to help us when we most needed it. "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, "With our love and deepest gratitude, From his daddy and mummy and little brother. Noah, you will be loved forever, you will never be forgotten and we miss you so so much, it has been a privilege to be your parents and be able to have packed so much love in the short 3 years you were with us."