Body of missing autistic Central Florida boy found

The body of a young autistic Central Florida boy who went missing a day ago in his neighborhood was found in a nearby canal, the Orange County Sheriff’s Office said.

Aaron Peña, 5, was last seen around noon Wednesday and was reported missing in an area east of the Lake Nona area, investigators said in a social media post.

The effort to find the boy included a missing child alert that was issued later in the day by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.

The boy’s mother told local reporters that her son was fascinated by water.

She said she was working at home when she didn’t hear any activity from her son and went downstairs and found a back door open.

Investigators did not elaborate on the circumstances of where the boy’s body was found.

“It’s with a heavy heart that we must report that Aaron Pena was found, deceased, in a body of water not far from his home,” the sheriff’s office said in a social media post. “\We are grieving his loss and our prayers are with his family.”