The search for missing 4-year-old Mohamed Fofana of Massachusetts came to a tragic end Monday when his body was found.
Massachusetts State Police said one of their marine units spotted the boy on the shoreline of Spectacle Island around 12:30 p.m. Investigators found his blue shoe in the water.
Fofana was with his older sister and grandfather playing at a park on Castle Island around 7 p.m. Sunday near the water when he vanished. His grandfather Soleymane Fofana called 911.
Spectacle Island is directly across the water from Castle Island.
“Troopers from the MSP Special Emergency Response Team and State Police Detective Unit for Suffolk County were ferried to the island by the Marine Unit, and they have confirmed the body to be Mohamed. State Police Crime Scene Services also responded to document the scene of the recovery,” State Police spokesman Dave Procopio said in a statement Monday afternoon.
“Mohamed will be brought to shore and transferred to the custody of the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner.”
A massive search was launched by land, air, and water through the night. The helicopter searched as far south as Hull and as far north as Deer Island because the current could go either way. Rescue K9s were also brought in to help.
“If you saw Mohamed, please help me,” Mohamed’s mother Matenjay Fofana said early Monday morning. “Help me to give it to me, my little baby, please. Please. He doesn’t have a daddy here. I’m here with my kids. Please, please people, help me find Mohamed for me.”
Mohamed’s mother and grandfather released two photos of him Monday morning, asking for the public’s help in finding him. They said he is on the Autism spectrum and has sickle cell disease.
“Mohamed can’t talk. He had his problems,” said Soleymane Fofana.
No other information is available at this point in the investigation.
“The death investigation is ongoing and is being conducted by the State Police Detective Unit for Suffolk County,” Procopios said.
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