Timeline: Search for missing special needs boy ends in tragedy
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The boy was brought ashore by Singapore Civil Defence Force officers and pronounced dead at the scene.
ST PHOTO: LIM YAOHUI
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SINGAPORE – Muhammad Hairil Effendi, an 11-year-old boy with special needs, went missing on Aug 29.
He was later found dead at sea
Here is a timeline of what happened:
Aug 29, 11.05am - Hairil is last seen
Hairil is last seen in the vicinity of Block 29 Marine Crescent at around 11.05am on Aug 29.
The boy’s mother says their neighbour’s CCTV footage shows him leaving their home.
Aug 29, 9.30pm - Appeals on social media
Facebook groups put out appeals for Hairil’s location and share missing posters of him. One post had garnered over 6,100 shares just past midnight on Aug 31, and has been widely reposted on social media.
Aug 29, 10.52pm - Police issue missing person report
The police issue an appeal for information
Muhammad Hairil Effendi, an 11-year-old boy with special needs, went missing on Aug 29.
PHOTO: SCREENGRAB FROM IANIDA MRMRSAFIAN/FACEBOOK
Aug 30, 9.55pm - Police and SCDF receive call for assistance
The police and the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) are alerted to an incident at East Coast Park.
Aug 30, 10.15pm - Police seen at East Coast Park
According to eyewitness Athavan A., police and SCDF officers arrive at about 10.15pm, and a section of the park is cordoned off.
A police officer at Siglap Canal next to a carpark at East Coast Park on the night of Aug 30.
ST PHOTO: LIM YAOHUI
Aug 30, 10.40pm - Officers ready to dive and retrieve body
Officers from the SCDF’s Disaster Assistance and Rescue Team (Dart) are seen unloading equipment and preparing for their dive.
Aug 30, 11.15pm - Body recovered
Officers from the Dart team pull the body of a boy from the sea.
Aug 31, 12.40am - Body brought into police van
A body is seen being loaded onto a stretcher and placed in a police van.
The boy's body being loaded into a police van at 12.42am on Aug 31.
ST PHOTO: LIM YAOHUI
Aug 31, 11.48am - Police confirm identity of body
The police say Hairil’s next-of-kin has identified the body as that of the missing boy.
