“We will carry Fawzan in our hearts”: Community mourns 6-year-old boy found dead in pond at Gaithersburg park

First responders have recovered the body of a missing, non-speaking, autistic 6-year-old from a pond in Gaithersburg, Maryland, where he was last seen.

Fawzan Hassan was last seen at an Ethiopian community picnic at Bohrer Park in Gaithersburg around 3 p.m. Saturday, according to a press release.

At a press conference, Montgomery County police confirmed that Hassan’s body appeared in a pond near Bohrer Park around 5:25 p.m. on Sunday, where a group of local volunteers saw him and alerted police.

The pond had previously been searched by authorities, but diving attempts were ruled out due to the snapping turtles in the water, police said.

WTOP’s Dick Uliano reports on the moment two park visitors discovered the boy’s body and called Montgomery County police.

The news of Hassan’s death shocked the community for more than a day.

“With the recovery of a body from the pond near Bohrer Park this afternoon, the search for six-year-old Fawzan Hassan has come to a tragic end. My thoughts are with Fawzan’s family during this time of grief,” County Executive Marc Elrich said in a statement Sunday.

WTOP’s Dick Uliano reported live from the scene and said Montgomery County police pulled the body from the small pond less than 50 yards from the playground where Hassan was last seen. Numerous people gathered at the scene were “crying” when the body was recovered, Uliano said.

“A truly sad end to this search. Our thoughts are and will remain with the Hassan family,” said Earl Stoddard, the county’s deputy administrator, in a post on X. “I can’t imagine their agony.”

Gaithersburg Mayor Jud Ashman thanked the families and community members who helped in the search after “an unspeakable tragedy for the Hassan family and the community.”

“We will carry Fawzan in our hearts,” Ashman said.

Lt. Kristina Hedgepeth of the Montgomery County Special Victims Bureau said the case will be referred to the Major Crimes Unit as usual going forward. There is currently no evidence of a crime.

“We are grateful for the tireless efforts of our search teams … and the many volunteers and community members who assisted in the search. Their dedication to finding Hassan was invaluable,” Hedgepeth said. “We ask that the community respect the family’s privacy as they mourn the loss of their child.”

The boy’s body was taken to the county coroner’s office, which will determine the cause of death in the next few days, police spokeswoman Sheira Goff said.

Community searches for hours for Hassan

After searching the area for more than 24 hours, police asked the public for help in finding Hassan during a press conference at 3:30 p.m.

Hassan was last seen wearing blue and white sneakers.

At a press conference on Sunday afternoon, police announced that they had completed the search in the park and much of the surrounding area. Police also asked the local community for further assistance in locating the child.

Among other things, police urged residents to be on the lookout for Hassan in public and to check their backyards and other places around their property where he may have sought shelter.

Ousman Seid, a leader of the Ethiopian Silt’e community group that hosted the picnic, said the group was helping search for the child and was offering its own $10,000 reward.

“This was our event, we think we have a responsibility and we haven’t slept on it,” Seid said. “We felt we had to do this and the money really didn’t matter,” he added.

Search teams worked through the night Saturday into Sunday to search for Hassan, using drones with assistance from the Maryland National Capital Police in Montgomery County and dogs from the Mid Atlantic Dogs search teams.

Before the end of the press conference, Hedgepeth addressed parents in the community, many of whom had been involved in the search.

“As a parent, you have to constantly stay on top of things. You have to constantly pay attention. And it’s even harder when you have a child with special needs,” Hedgepeth said. “Keep an eye on the kids and focus on them as best you can. But unfortunately, you know these things happen. Tragedies happen.”

WTOP’s Dick Uliano contributed to this report.

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