Khyzah: Autopsy completed on Gisborne 5-year-old found dead in farm pond

Police say an autopsy on the body of Gisborne 5-year-old Khyzah (pictured here with his mum Maia) has been completed.

The autopsy on the body of Gisborne 5-year-old Khyzah has been completed, police say.

The non-verbal autistic boy was found dead in a pond on Monday, just over 24 hours after he went missing on his family’s farm in the rugged and isolated community of Tiniroto.

A href="https://givealittle.co.nz/cause/support-for-khyzahs-family">Givealittle page set up this week in memory of Khyzah said he was “a happy little soul” and “such a beautiful little man”.

“The loss of this cherished boy has left a big hole in everyone’s hearts and he will be so missed,” the page read.

The fundraising page had raised $17,564 by 1.30pm today.

“Khyzah’s whānau are devasted and are beginning to make plans for his tangi,” police said.

“Whānau would like to privately grieve the sudden loss of their loved one in the company of their local community who knew and loved Khyzah.”

Police said they are providing ongoing support to Khyzah’s family and thanked members of the community who helped with the search this week.

A Givealittle page set up in memoriam of 5-year-old Khyzah has raised more than $17,000.

Numerous police and Search and Rescue personnel, along with hundreds of Gisborne and East Coast residents, scoured the area hoping to find Khyzah after he was reported missing on Sunday afternoon.

But those hopes were dashed when the boy’s body was discovered in a pond on the farm. It was a discovery that saw the mood at the Bushy Knoll Rd farm turn from hope to despair.

“The discovery of the little boy’s body was devastating for all those involved in the search and, of course, for his family,” search co-ordinator Detective Sergeant Wayne Beattie said.

“There were a lot of people in tears when the news came through that he had been found.”

The family property in the wider Tiniroto area is about a 44-minute drive south of Gisborne. It’s rugged land, with creeks and ponds a common sight on farms throughout the area.

‘Our boy’s missing’

Khyzah’s family realised the youngster was missing mid-afternoon Sunday.

The fact Khyzah was non-verbal made the situation even more desperate.

Khyzah was non-verbal autistic, which made the search for him more desperate.

One of his relatives, who travelled to Tiniroto with about 20 others from the East Coast to join the search, said the boy’s father was among family members who wasted little time in visiting farms in a bid to locate Khyzah.

Khyzah’s family had previously lived on the East Coast before moving to Tiniroto.

“We all felt it in our community when we found out he was missing,” the woman said.

“Your heart sinks and you panic. I’ve got a young son, it is just a horrible thought.”

The group of about 20 then joined hundreds of others who had volunteered their time in a bid to locate the missing boy.

“We had people checking the waterways, areas which had earlier been checked. Others went straight into it going through scrub and heading towards bush.

“The feeling from everyone was that they needed to find Khyzah safe and well.

“On that farm, you had ladies with their 6-month-old babies strapped to their backs joining the search. Everyone was just doing whatever they could to find the boy.”

Sadly, the search crews were left devastated when the 5-year-old’s body was found.