The body of a 6-year-old non-verbal autistic boy who went missing Saturday was found Sunday afternoon in a pond at Bohrer Park in Gaithersburg, Montgomery County police announced.
Fawzan Hassan, who was autistic and non-verbal, was last seen at the park at 506 S. Frederick Ave. at about 3 p.m. Saturday, according to police.
Police said a body surfaced Sunday afternoon at a pond about 50 yards from a playground where the boy was last seen. People in the park saw the body and then notified an officer nearby. The boy’s family had come to the park to enjoy a community event on Saturday and notified police after he went missing from the playground.
Police and Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service (MCFRS) crews had searched the ponds at the park Saturday night. Search teams continued throughout the night to search for the boy and “deployed drones with the assistance of Maryland National Capital Police – Montgomery County,” police said.
Although the ponds were searched Saturday, police said the terrain of the ponds could make it difficult to find someone.
On Sunday, as search teams continued to look for the boy, authorities had urged residents in the area of the park to “check around their property, including under porches and decks, swimming pools, outbuildings, unlocked cars, and nearby playgrounds,” police said Sunday in a statement. Police also asked residents to review home surveillance videos.
After the boy’s body was found, police thanked officers from the Maryland National Capital Police, Gaithersburg and state police departments; MCFRS; Mid-Atlantic DOGS Search and Rescue; and the many volunteers and community members who had assisted in the search.