A bystander holds a poster for missing 6-year-old Hamza Elmi near where the boy’s scooter was found on the banks of the Mississippi River.
Sunday, July 26, 2015
A makeshift memorial of flowers, cards and stuffed animals has been set up to remember a 6-year-old boy whose body was pulled from the Mississippi River on Friday morning.
Hamza Elmi was last seen about 8:40 p.m. Thursday in the 300 block of Eighth Avenue North. Authorities on Friday morning ended the search for him after divers found a boy's body 10 to 15 feet off the west bank of the Mississippi River. A scooter that the boy had been using was seen nearby.
The Ramsey County Medical Examiner's Office has identified the body was Elmi.
Authorities spoke to tearful family members gathered near the river after divers and a boat involved in search and recovery left the water.
"This morning, our worst nightmare has come to fruition. And a family is without a child," St. Cloud Police Chief Blair Anderson said.
The boy’s father, Abdilahi Hassan, said later in the day that he was thankful for the help from police and the support of the community.
On Friday, the search focused on the river in an area where a pink scooter was found Friday morning. Police placed crime tape in the area south of a boat ramp near Cathedral High School, at Fifth Avenue and Fourth Street North.
St. Cloud Fire Department sent a boat to the area. By 10:10 a.m., a dive team was at the scene. By 11:20 a.m. Friday, authorities were setting up a tent on the river bank. Officers also were searching as far north as the 700 block of Eighth Avenue.
Search ends after missing 6-year-old boy's body is found
Dozens of bystanders watched as the dive team worked at midmorning.
The Central Minnesota chapter of the American Red Cross joined the search effort early Friday morning and provided food and water to people involved, according to spokeswoman Carrie Carlson-Guest.
St. Cloud Police Commander Jeff Oxton said this was not the first time Elmi had run off. During those other instances, family members were able to find Elmi quickly.
Police requested the public's help in finding Elmi at 10:30 p.m. Thursday.
Oxton said officers had initiated a ground search of about 160 square blocks. Oxton also said the St. Cloud Police Department used a reverse 9-1-1 system to reach residents in the targeted search area.
A tip around 8:30 a.m. led officers to the Mississippi River location where they recovered the pink scooter Elmi was last seen with in the river.
Oxton said police do not suspect foul play.
The social media campaign group #unitecloud has set up a GoFundMe account for the Elmi family to help cover funeral costs. A fund also has been established at TCF Bank.
Elmi was a student at Madison Elementary School. According to police, he was autistic and was not verbal.