NewsWorld newsMissing personsJoão Gabriel Ferreira dos Santos, five, was found dead in a two-metre-deep pool of water that had collected on the torn cover of a bio-digestor near his family home in Araucária, Brazil12:35, 29 Jul 2026A five-year-old boy has been found dead in a sewage tank after telling his mum he was going to use the toilet.‌João Gabriel Ferreira dos Santos, who is autistic, went missing in Brazil after telling his mother he was going to the outside toilet on Sunday morning. His parents searched for him for an hour before raising the alarm.‌Hundreds of people joined in the search effort with a huge hunt for the youngster using dogs, drones, a helicopter and volunteers.‌Search parties combed three square kilometres of dense woodland, ponds and farmland.The non-verbal child, who needed level-two support for autism spectrum disorder, lived on a rural property with his parents where they worked as caretakers.‌João’s body was eventually found after three days in a two-metre-deep pool of water that had collected on the torn cover of a bio-digestor about 70 metres from the family home.Firefighters found him yesterday afternoon after they drained the water from the structure, which is used to break down pig waste and other organic matter at the farm in Araucária in the Brazilian state of Paraná.The tarp, which should have stayed inflated by gases, had a tear which allowed the deadly pool to form. The area was fenced but had a gap the little boy could have slipped through.‌Fire department spokesperson Eduardo Hunzicker said: “It was a location we had already mapped. The tarp was punctured and underneath were animal faeces."“The water was completely contaminated, making diving impossible. We asked the property owner to empty the water and the boy was located during that work.”Article continues belowGovernor Ratinho Junior expressed deep sadness and offered condolences to the family. Civil police and forensic teams have opened an investigation.Officers say there are no signs of crime so far and are treating the death as a probable accident.Choose Daily Mirror as a 'Preferred Source' on Google News for quick access to the news you value.‌Missing personsBrazil