Missing boy, 4, found dead

A missing 4-year-old boy was found dead near his home early this morning.

The body of Michael Mitchell was found after an eight-hour search by nearly all members of the remote Whatatutu community, along with police and a helicopter.

The discovery dashed the hopes of his father, Michael Mitchell senior, who had hoped the boy was sleeping in one of the 30 houses that made up the remote East Cape village.

Senior sergeant Moera Brown said about 40 locals had joined police searchers to look for Michael, who had been missing since 3.30pm. His body was found near a water trough by the family home just after midnight.

The search began after reports Michael had wandered off wearing black tracksuit pants and a camouflage shirt. He was barefoot and carrying a black toy gun.

She said Michael was comfortable wandering between the homes in the settlement. She said he had gone missing about the time of his afternoon sleep and the community initially hoped he had wandered into one of the houses for his nap.

Brown said the community had helped search and rescue teams look for the boy.

The search effort had been bolstered by a helicopter with infra-red search equipment.