Christmas tragedy: Body of missing 5-year-old with autism discovered in icy pond

An investigation has been launched after the body of a five-year-old boy was discovered in an icy pond in Six Lakes, Michigan. The body was identified as that of Beau Belson, who had been reported missing. Belson's family had reported that the child went missing from his grandmother's home on Christmas Day. A massive search was launched to find Belson. The search was called off when the Michigan State Police Marine Service Team discovered the child's body.

On Christmas Day, Belson had been visiting his grandmother with the rest of his family. At around 2:30 pm local time, Belson was last seen in his grandmother's backyard playing with the rest of his family. After some time, the family went inside the home. Soon, the family realised that the 5-year-old was missing.

After searching the home and the rest of the property, the family alerted the police. Michigan State Police was joined by around 1,000 volunteers in search of the missing child. Belson's age, as well as the fact that he was on the autism spectrum, worried the family as well as those looking for the child.

NBC affiliate WOOD reported that people from surrounding neighbourhoods and communities joined the search once the news of the missing child spread. Over nearly 24 hours, volunteers searched miles of the area around Belson's grandmother's home. Some of the volunteers brought their tracking dogs while others used drones to sweep the area. Those who could not go looking for the child tried to help out by giving food to the volunteers and the police.

Despite the community rallying to help the family find Belson, the child could not be saved.

A partially ice-covered pond close to the home was one of the first places the police searched on Wednesday. However, due to the ice, the police were unable to search the pond extensively. On Thursday, a police diver who specialises in ice searches made the heart-breaking discovery.

Michigan State Police Lieutenant, David Cope, made the announcement that Belson's body had been found under the ice. The police have sent the body for a post mortem to get a better idea about the cause of death. Even though the police are investigating Belson's death, there is no indication of foul play.