VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. (Gray News) – Authorities found the body of a 7-year-old boy with autism in a Florida pond after he ran away from his home earlier this week.

Charlie was reported missing after running away from home around 8 p.m. Sunday evening, according to the Volusia Sheriff’s Office.

He was non-verbal and was known to be interested in Christmas lights, bodies of water, and climbing trees.

Deputies and multiple agencies worked together throughout the night to search for the child by land and air.

The sheriff’s office posted an update on Facebook around 9pm Monday evening that Charlie had drowned.

“This is the tragic outcome we worked hard hoping would not happen,” the sheriff’s office said in the post.

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