7News takes a deep dive into multi-agency search effort for 6-year-old missing boy

GAITHERSBURG, Md. (7News) — A day after a six-year-old boy was found dead in a Montgomery County pond, 7News is pushing officials for answers about how the search was conducted and how information about the missing child was shared with the public.

Montgomery County Police reported the body of six-year-old Fawzan Hassan was recovered from a pond at Bohrer Park in Gaithersburg, Maryland Sunday.

The discovery came after what police describe as an “extensive search” for the child who had autism and was non-verbal.

“I know as the parent of an autistic kid the first place you want to go is the water. There was a gentleman standing looking at the water and he motioned to me, and I ran over, and I looked down and that was the child who was there in the water,” said Neil Nightingale of Silver Spring, Maryland who joined the search for the boy.

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Fawzan disappeared around 3 p.m. on Saturday after attending a picnic with his family.

“Everybody was extremely thorough; especially on this property,” said Lieutenant Kristina Hedgepeth of Montgomery County police.

Police said that six agencies searched the pond via drones, canines, and other measures. They explained divers were not used because first responders were concerned about snapping turtles and murky water.

On Monday, 7News asked Montgomery County Council President Andrew Friedson, “Do you think, Mr. Friedson, that there are some steps that could have been handled better to improve the county’s response to that incident?”

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“There will be a time for us to assess what occurred and if and when any changes should be made. I don’t know if there are legislative changes that would be required or if there are any process or procedural issues that could be looked at or addressed, but we’ll take that up at the appropriate time,” Friedson said.

7News also sent several questions to police about the search process, including how it was specifically conducted and if it could have been improved.

“Do you think that the agencies involved could have done a better job of searching for this child?” 7News asked Acting Assistant Chief David McBain of Montgomery County police.

“No, I do not,” said Chief McBain.

“Were there any lapses in communication in your opinion?” 7News also asked.

“No. We connected with the public through social media. As far as our department and officers are concerned, we were placing lookouts for the young man every 30 minutes and we continued to work with the office of (Montgomery County) Emergency Management to get that message out to the community,” McBain replied.

Police said Hassan’s body has been transported to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner to determine the exact cause of death.

Maryland recently passed a bill establishing a Purple Alert Program which would help authorities share information with the public when a person with a cognitive impairment, mental disorder, intellectual or developmental disability, or brain injury is reported missing.

This would require state police to adopt guidelines and a procedure to issue a Purple Alert.

This bill will go into effect on Oct. 1, 2024.