When three-year-old Cameron Thomas went missing Tuesday night, nearly 100 Chesapeake, Va. locals went searching for the non-verbal autistic child in rainy weather.
Minutes after the volunteers stopped searching around midnight, a dive team discovered Cameron’s lifeless body in a marsh near his family’s home, news that has hearts aching in the community and across the country.
WAVY-TV reported that the child disappeared from his home around 6:15 p.m. Tuesday and it is believed that he escaped through a window with a broken screen.
Cody Thomas, the child’s father, told WAVY-TV that his son often picked at that screen.
Cameron’s mother Rachel was running errands at the time and his dad was in the shower, the boy’s godmother Shelby Stewart told WTKR-TV.
The news of Cameron’s death has shocked Chesapeake.
The New York Daily News pointed to a particularly moving comment left on WAVY’s Facebook page by a woman who was one of the search volunteers.
She decided to help because she has a non-verbal autistic son.
“My heart aches for this family,” she wrote. “I pray them peace and comfort as they try to cope with this tragedy. Rest in peace, sweet boy. I hope the family knows that the entire community and all around Hampton Roads are thinking of you and praying.”
Today, people in the community are offering condolences to the Thomas family’s front door.
Others have joined on Twitter.
A GoFundMe campaign has been started to help cover funeral costs.