Emergency workers found the body of a missing, non-verbal, autistic 6-year-old boy in a pond at a park in Gaithersburg, Maryland, where the boy had last been seen.
Emergency workers found the body of a missing, non-verbal, autistic 6-year-old boy in a pond at a park in Gaithersburg, Maryland, where the boy had last been seen.
Fauzan Hassan was last seen at an Ethiopian community picnic at Bohler Park in Gaithersburg on Saturday around 3 p.m., according to a news release.
Montgomery County Police confirmed at a press conference that Hassan’s body was discovered in a pond near Bohler Park at approximately 5:25 p.m. Sunday after a local volunteer group spotted him and called police.
Police said the pond had been searched by authorities previously but the presence of snapping turtles in the water made diving impossible.
WTOP’s Dick Uliano reports on the moment two park visitors discovered the boy’s body and called Montgomery County Police.
News of Hassan’s death sent shock waves through the community for more than a day.
“The search for 6-year-old Fauzan Hassan came to a tragic end this afternoon when his body was discovered in a pond near Bohler Park. Our hearts go out to Fauzan’s family during their time of grief,” County Executive Mark Elrich said in a statement Sunday.
WTOP reporter Dick Uliano, reporting live from the scene, said Montgomery County police pulled Hassan’s body from a small pond less than 50 yards from the playground where he was last seen. Many people gathered at the scene “were crying” when the body was recovered, Uliano said.
“A truly sad ending to this search. My thoughts are and always will be with the Hassan family,” County Deputy Executive Earl Stoddard said in a post on X. “I cannot imagine their anguish.”
Gaithersburg Mayor Jud Ashman expressed gratitude to family and community members who assisted in the search after an “unspeakable tragedy for the Hassan family and the community.”
“We will continue to hold Fauzan in our hearts,” Ashman said.
Lt. Christina Hedgepeth of the Montgomery County Special Victims Bureau said the case will now be transferred to the Major Crimes Unit as is standard practice, and there are no indications of foul play at this time.
“We’d like to thank the tireless efforts of search crews and the many volunteers and local residents who assisted in the search. Your efforts in helping us find Hassan are immeasurable,” Mr Hedgepeth said. “We ask that the community please respect the family’s privacy as they mourn the loss of their child.”
Police spokeswoman Sheila Goff said the boy’s body was transported to the county coroner’s office, where a cause of death is expected to be determined within the next few days.
The community searched for Hassan for hours.
After searching the area for more than 24 hours, police asked local residents to help search for Hassan at a 3:30 p.m. press conference.
Hassan was last seen wearing blue and white sneakers.
Police said at a press conference on Sunday afternoon that they have nearly completed their search of the park and surrounding area. They also asked local residents to continue assisting in the search for the boy.
Police urged residents to keep an eye out for Hassan in public places and to check their backyards and other areas on their properties where he may be hiding.
Usman Said, leader of the Sirte community group in Ethiopia which organized the picnic, said his group was helping to find the children and had offered a $10,000 reward.
“This is our event. We felt it was a responsibility and we didn’t lose any sleep,” Said said. “We felt we had to do this and money really wasn’t an issue,” he added.
Searchers worked through the night Saturday and into Sunday to find Hassan, using drones and dogs from the Mid-Atlantic Dogs search team with the assistance of the Metropolitan Police Department in Montgomery County, Maryland.
At the end of the press conference, Hedgepeth addressed area parents, many of whom had been involved in the search.
“Being a parent myself, you have to be vigilant all the time. You have to be watching all the time. And when you have a child with special needs it’s even harder,” Hedgepeth said. “You have to watch them, keep an eye on them, keep them as focused as you can, but unfortunately these things happen. Tragedies happen.”
WTOP’s Dick Uliano contributed to this report.
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