MO - Town united to search for special needs child, found drowned in a pond today

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Evidently, foul play is not suspected at this time.

More than 1,000 people searched for missing boy (Joplin Globe)
WEBB CITY, Mo. — The search Wednesday night for Fred "Freddie" Williams, a 14-year-old boy with special needs whose body was recovered this morning from a pond north of Webb City High School, involved more than 1,000 people at its peak.

Local residents and law-enforcement officials were patrolling the streets in cars and on foot with flashlights.

"I've been involved in a lot of searches before, but I have never seen so many cars all out at once looking for somebody. It was pretty amazing," said Carl Francis, Webb City's police chief and city administrator, during a news conference this morning at the Webb City Police Department.

The original Facebook post about Williams had 68,000 views by earlier today, he said.

Francis said the Webb City School District put out an all-call alert to everyone that he was missing at 8:30 p.m. Wednesday. He said the original call came in at 3:45 p.m. from the 1100 block of Mineral Street. Williams was described as wearing just a T-shirt and underwear.
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more, with a map, at link above

Teacher mourns loss of former student (Joplin Globe)
WEBB CITY, Mo. — The drowning death of Fred “Freddie’’ Williams, a 14-year-old boy with special needs in Webb City, has broken the heart of a special education teacher who worked with him.

The teacher, Dana Reed, in a telephone interview this morning, said, “I taught Fred for a long time — in kindergarten, first grade, and the third and fourth grades. He was one of my first students.

“Fred was a special needs kid. He had a lot of hurdles to overcome in life, but he was a happy little boy.
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“He had a lot of issues to deal with in the every day,’’ she said. “He had just turned 14 on May 1. I cared deeply for him as I do with all my kiddos. My heart goes out to the family.’’
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more at link above
 

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