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The body of a missing 3-year-old boy was found in a Lowell, Massachusetts pond, CBS News reports. Harry Kkonde’s body was discovered on Wednesday afternoon (June 15), just over a day after he went missing from his babysitter’s home. He was found by a State Police dive team in a pond on a nearby farm.
“I don’t cry too much but boy it really was a shock,” said Ronald Perron, the owner of the farm. “I never thought that they were going to find this kid in my pond.”
When the pond was initially searched on Tuesday (June 14), there had been no signs of the child. Kkonde was still dressed in the clothes that he was last seen in and was located in a shallow pond, about five feet deep.
His parents mourned alongside fellow Ugandan immigrants Wednesday night (June 15) when the news was revealed. Family members described the 3-year-old as a humble, quiet little boy he stuck close to his mother’s side.
“We had the hope that he was going to come home alive,” said a friend of the family, Maureen Kalemba. “It was so devastating to know that Harry just ended in that pond.”
According to Carlisle Police Chief John Fisher, this was the young child’s fifth visit with the babysitter and they believe he walked out of the door on his own. A neighbor says that he was last seen playing in the yard at approximately 9:15 a.m. just 15 minutes before authorities were called to report that Kkonde was missing.
“We feel empty,” Kalemba continued. “We don’t have any other words to express how we feel.” Dozens of people from the community gathered near the farm on Wednesday night to leave balloons and flowers to pay respect to the 3-year-old.