ASHEBORO, N.C. — Deputies said a 7-year-old boy with special needs was found dead after three days of search efforts.

Deputies confirmed Tuesday that the body of Liam King was found shortly after 10 a.m. in a pond near his home on Forest Hills Drive in Asheboro. The Randolph County Sheriff’s Office said the pond was about one-tenth of a mile from where he was staying. His body has been sent to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Chapel Hill to determine the cause of death.

"We are absolutely devastated. I wish more than anything that we had a different outcome—for Liam’s family, for our community, and for the hundreds of first responders and volunteers who poured their hearts into finding him alive," the Randolph County Sheriff's Office said in a statement.

Liam, who had autism

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