The body of the 9-year-old autistic boy who vanished from a Brooklyn Ikea was pulled from the Red Hook Channel early Thursday after a frantic search, police confirmed.
The nonverbal boy, who was not immediately identified, was discovered in the body of water near 1 Beard Street around 12:15 a.m. Thursday – more than three hours after his disappearance from the home furnishings store, which sparked an intense police search, authorities said.
He was taken to Brooklyn Methodist Hospital, where he was pronounced dead about an hour later, the NYPD said.
No criminality was immediately suspected, cops said.
The boy – who was last seen inside the Ikea wearing a black shirt, blue shorts and orange Crocs – was captured on surveillance footage walking out of the rear of the store, which leads directly to a boardwalk and pier on the Erie Basin.
Soon into their search, investigators recovered both of the boy’s Crocs from the water.
Frantic family members were spotted working with dozens of police officers within a roped-off section of the boardwalk.
Multiple NYPD divers searched for the boy, as a slow-moving police boat cruised the still waters in hopes of catching sight of the child in the beam of its spotlight.
At least one K-9 was seen working to hunt down the missing boy’s scent.
