Body of 6-year-old boy with autism recovered from pond in Montgomery County
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MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Md. - The body of a 6-year-old boy with autism was discovered in a pond at a park in Montgomery County Sunday, a day after he had been reported missing by his family.
Multiple law enforcement agencies and the community searched Saturday and Sunday but a community member found Fawzan Hassan’s body in a pond, just feet from where he was reported missing.
Six-year-old Fawzan Hassan was with his family here in Bohrer Park on Sunday. They got to a gathering around 3 p.m. and authorities say Hassan was playing on the playground. The family looked over to check in on him and he was gone, according to police.
Family called 911 immediately and police arrived minutes later. Over 100 community members searched last night and all of today hopeful the little boy who was non-verbal, would turn up. Then, just before 5:30 p.m., a community member saw something floating in the pond.
Word quickly got around to the many volunteers who were in the park, with people rushing to the pond, but then a sense of hope turned to heartbreak as people realized what was going on.
Neal Nightingale has an autistic child, felt compelled to come help, immediately walked towards this pond, and he and another volunteer spotted Hassan’s body.
"I was talking to my wife, and I was like, you know, she was saying they have enough volunteers, so I was like let me just go to the park, check it out," Nightingale said. "So I got out of my car, and I started walking down, everything was business as usual, you know, but I know as a parent of an autistic kid, the first place you want to go is the water."
"We all had been hoping for a different outcome. However, the body of 6-year-old Fawzan Hassan has been recovered," said Shiera Goff, the Montgomery County Police public information officer.
At a news conference an hour after the little boy’s body was found, Montgomery County officials said there were visual inspections of the pond but divers determined visibility would be an issue as well.
Drones and other technology were used during the search.
"The unfortunate thing when you’re dealing with bodies of water is, again, what’s underneath, we don’t know and how that can affect our instrument and reading signals and things like that," said Kristina Hedgepeth with the Special Victims Investigations Division.
An investigation into this incident is ongoing, and the medical examiner will determine the cause and manner of death.
The devastated family is asking for privacy tonight as they mourn this loss.