3-Year-Old Boy Found Dead in Mass. Pond After Disappearing from Babysitter's Yard

Photo: Lowell Police Department

“This is obviously every parent’s worst nightmare: a child who disappears for a very short period of time, the excruciating hours of the search and then the recovery of his body,” Ryan said at the news conference.

His disappearance came shortly after his parents dropped him off around 7:00 a.m., officials said.

“He likes going outside,” the father told the outlet. “When he’s at home, he goes to the yard and plays. He’s a healthy kid but he can’t speak. He’s trying to learn how to speak but he can’t talk.”

During the search, Carlisle Police Chief John Fisher said officials were “checking every spot in that neighborhood from a breadbox on up,” according toNBC Boston.

“A 3-year-old of average mobility, fortunately or unfortunately, can get pretty far,” Fisher told reporters Wednesday morning at an earlier news conference. “So today we’re going out even further than we might yesterday.”

Lowell Police Department

During Wednesday afternoon’s press conference, officials stated that they are still looking for answers.

“I want to be clear that we have no idea how Harry came to reach that pond, where he might have been or how long it might have taken him to reach that pond,” Ryan said, per ABC News.

In their news release, the Middlesex District Attorney’s Office wrote that “the investigation into this matter is ongoing and includes attempts to learn what time and how Harry entered the water.”

One of the owners of the farm toldABC station WCVBthat they were “heartbroken.”

“We both were looking for this little boy yesterday,” the owner told the outlet. “We were sitting at the pond last night just saying let’s hope they’ll find him tonight. And we were at the pond last night sitting there, he was right there in the pond.”

In a statement, policewrote, “Our thoughts and prayers are with Harry’s family during this difficult time. The LPD is thankful to all of our law enforcement partners for their assistance and grateful to the community for their support and assistance throughout the search. "

source: people.com