Police: Missing boy’s body recovered from pond near Montgomery County park

MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Md. ( DC News Now ) — Over 24 hours after a boy went missing from a playground in Montgomery County, police said that his body was recovered from a pond.

The Montgomery County Department of Police (MCPD) said that 6-year-old Fawzan Hassan went to Boher Park on S. Frederick Avenue in Gaithersburg around 3 p.m. on Saturday with his parents for a community event.

MCPD said that around 25 minutes later, Fawzan’s family looked at the playground and didn’t see him there. They called Montgomery County police, and MCPD and Gaithersburg City Police Department officers responded within five minutes.

In a post on the X platform just after 6:05 p.m. on Sunday, MCPD said that a body had been recovered from the pond in the park.

“It’s kind of, you know, it’s kind of shocking,” said Neal Nightingale, who told DC News Now that he found the body in the water.

Nightingale has a 6-year-old daughter who is autistic. She came to the park to help find Fawzan.

“I did not expect to show up here, and then, you know, see… the kid in the water,” Nightingale said.

“I know as a parent myself, it’s your head’s got to be on a swivel,” said Lt. Kristina Hedgepeth, with MCPD. “You have to constantly be watching. And it’s even harder when you have a child with special needs.”

MCPD said that nearby agencies worked with Montgomery County and Gaithersburg police to search neighboring communities.

Volunteers also responded to help with the search, which lasted for over a day.

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