Authorities found a missing 4-year-old’s body Monday afternoon on the shores near Boston.
Mohamed Fofana, a non-verbal, autistic child, was reported missing May 14 after his grandfather lost sight of him while on a phone call as the children were playing at a local park, WCVB reported. “I shut the phone off, and I said let me take Mohamed and his sister to the house, I call his sister to come, I said where’s your brother?” Soleymane Fofana told the outlet.
The Fofana family reported Mohamed missing immediately, instigating a search by police officials.
A sad update: the body of 4-year-old Mohemed Fofena has been found on the banks of Spectacle Island in Boston Harbor, @MassStatePolice confirms. #wcvb https://t.co/rG1CL5iVnv
— Peter Eliopoulos (@petereliopoulos) May 15, 2023
Authorities reviewing surveillance video near the playground found that Mohamed had left the playground alone and was moving towards the direction of the water, the outlet reported.
“We did review some [Department of Conservation and Recreation] video footage, you see Mohamed leaving the playground in that footage, not accompanied by his adult relative at that point, and then he goes off screen and you don’t see him again in the footage,” state police spokesman David Procopio told WCVB News.
In their preliminary search, police discovered one of the boy’s Croc sandals floating in the water, leading search teams to scour the waters around Castle Island, where the boy was last seen, the outlet stated. Just after noon on Monday, the State Police Marine unit spotted a small body lying on the shore of neighboring Spectacle Island, the outlet stated. Family members confirmed the body was that of the missing 4-year-old. (RELATED: Incredible Video Shows Moment State Troopers Find 4-Year-Old Boy, Dog Who Went Missing In The Woods)
“We wished for a much different outcome,” Procopio stated, according to Boston 25. “There’s not one Trooper, officer, firefighter, EMT involved who did not want a better and happier outcome,” he continued.