Holiday tragedy: Boy disappears in the middle of the night

When Connor Elliott-Graham disappeared from his bed in the middle of the night, his family was optimistic that he would be found safe and sound. What happened next is nothing short of tragic. The family had traveled from Queensland to Chatsworth Island to stay with relatives over the holidays and last checked on the four-year-old at 3.30am.

Connor was autistic and had gone for night time walks before. When his parents went to wake him up later that morning they found him gone and his bedroom window pushed open. Still they were optimistic he’d be found safe and well and were desperate to find him.

They fanned out, searching the house and the yard for the little boy. He was nowhere to be seen.

They called the police.

Still, the family thought he’d be found alive. How far could he have gone? But authorities were worried. Connor and his family had been staying at his aunt’s home, located opposite the Clarence River. Also Connor was easily frightened. How would he react to the sound of helicopters overhead and strangers calling his name?

His toy elephant was spotted near the river at 7am. That afternoon Connor's body was found. He had fallen into the river and drowned. The volunteer diver who found Connor had been searching the river on his boat all day. A father himself, he was left shaken by the discovery. "We all have kids - you put yourself in that situation," he said.

Connor's father David had been strong all day, supporting his distraught wife. When they received the terrible news, he collapsed and went into severe shock.

The missing boy had been spotted in a nearby laneway at 4am. He was known to wander in the middle of the night but short of strapping him to his bed, there wasn't much his parents could have done to prevent this tragedy.

Images courtesy of Sky News.

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