Body of 5-Year-Old Boy Who Wandered Away from His Birthday Party Believed to Have Been Found in Canal

“Sadly, this is not the outcome we were all hoping for. Our hearts go out to Matthew’s family,” Boise Fire Chief Mark Niemeyer said in a statement

The body of a missing Idaho boy, who wandered off during his birthday party, has been found, according to police.

The Boise Police Department announced on Facebook on Tuesday, Aug. 6, that search crews ‘believe’ they located the body of 5-year-old Matthew Glynn — who had been reported missing the day before — deceased in the water approximately “half a mile” north of the street where his home was located.

“Sadly, this is not the outcome we were all hoping for. Our hearts go out to Matthew’s family, and we extend our deepest condolences during this incredibly difficult time,” Boise Fire Chief Mark Niemeyer said in the department’s statement.

Glynn was reported missing at around 5:25 pm local time on Aug. 5, after he “walked away from home near Alamosa and State Street,” police said. In an X (formerly Twitter) post about his disappearance, investigators noted that he was wearing “gray Batman pajamas” when he went missing and was “nonverbal.” Police stated that Glynn was celebrating his birthday at a party at the time of the disappearance, according to Fox 13, KTVB and USA Today.

Related: Missing Teen with Autism Found at New Mexico Walmart, About 200 Miles from Arizona Home

Following his disappearance, Boise Police, Boise Fire and Idaho Mountain Search and Rescue launched a search effort to find the boy using drones, K9s and UTVs — who played the song “Wheels on the Bus” to attract Glynn, Ron Christensen with Idaho Mountain Search and Rescue told ABC News.

“When you have an autistic subject that’s nonverbal, they tend to exhibit preferences and behaviors that are potentially a little bit more predictable,” Boise Police Department Chief Ron Winegar said in a news conference, per KTVB. “So, we employed some of those strategies that we had been given.”

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Police noted that they “covered the canals, river and other areas” near the home in their search. Detectives with the Ada County Child Abduction Response Team also “searched door to door” in the area where Glynn went missing.

“The water was initially our biggest concern and a large focus of our efforts,” Winegar said in a statement. “We are heartbroken over this development today.”

Police said the Ada County Coroner’s Office is working to make an “official identification” of the body found and the investigation is “ongoing.”

Related: Missing Boy with Autism Found Using Bracelet with GPS Signal: ‘I Couldn’t Be More Thankful’

“At this point (we do) not have (any) indication of foul play (or) any indication there was anything other than a tragic accident,” Winegar said in a press conference, according to KIVI-TV.

The boy’s mother told KTVB that she was “heartbroken” at the news of her son’s death and is still trying to process what happened.

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