WILKES COUNTY, N.C. — Wilkes County EMS confirms that an 8-year-old boy was found dead in a small pond near his home at around noon on Wednesday.
Deputies responded to South Lomax Road in Ronda in reference to a missing/runaway young boy.
The search spanned over the course of 16 and a half hours, deputies said.
Zachariah William Walker, 8, from Ronda, had non-verbal autism, according to Wilkes County Emergency Management.
Wilkes County EMS said the Wilkes County Sheriff’s Office feels no foul play was involved in this death.
Wilkes EMS released this statement:
Our thoughts and prayers go out to this family during this tragic time.
This is an ongoing investigation.
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