The search in Minnesota for a missing 4-year-old autistic boy ended in tragedy. Authorities announced Monday that Waeys Mohamed’s body was found deceased in a creek, likely from accidental drowning. They are trying to dispel online chatter about his death.
“There’s a lot of rumor and conjecture about this case, about different things that have gotten posted on social media,” Hopkins Police Department Captain Craig Krieling said at a press conference.
“What I can say is we have evidence that Waeys left this apartment building on his own accord, and there is no room to try to blame anybody else right now,” Kreiling stated, adding that the department is working with Hennepin County’s medical examiner’s office and law enforcement to determine the cause of death.
According to police, the evidence shows that Waeys wandered from the Chorus Apartments where he lived in Hopkins, located about three miles aways from Minneapolis, and was last seen alive on Sunday around 7:30 a.m., walking along the 1200 block of Second Street Northeast. A civilian volunteer found his body the next day in Minnehaha Creek about 500 yards from Waeys’ apartment building.
KARE reports that Waeys was wearing only blue pajama pants when he went missing. His family said he was nonverbal and easily startled or scared by loud noises.
Krieling said the investigation is ongoing. Authorities are trying to determine whether Waeys walked into the creek or fell in, and they don’t yet know where he entered the water.
Multiple law enforcement agencies, first responder units, drone pilots and civilian volunteers joined the search on Monday for Waeys.
“We provided a great deal of public resources towards this, but what was truly meaningful in this case is the amount of community members that came out to help. And I think that speaks volumes to the community that we have here in Hopkins that we want to help one another,” Kreiling said.
Many of the volunteers were parents or grandparents of toddlers or those connected to the local autism community.
“Anyone who is a mother or has nieces or nephews or works in the school system, you know how vulnerable little guys are, and especially if they have sensory issues and nonverbal,” volunteer Pamela Diedrich told CBS Minnesota.
Waeys’ family created a GoFundMe page to “assist a single mother financially as she navigates this challenging time.” He’s described as “ a vibrant, funny, and kind-hearted young boy who brought joy to everyone around him!”
In 2021, the National Centers for Missing and Exploited Children received reports of 286 missing autistic children. The organization’s 10-year analysis of data shows that drownings accounted for 84 percent of accidental deaths among autistic children.