Missing 6-Year-Old Boy with Disabilities Found Dead in Virginia: He ‘Touched So Many People’

Landon “Waldy” Raber. Missing 6-Year-Old with Autism Found Dead in Virginia. Togo Volunteer Fire Department

Landon “Waldy” Raber went missing on Sunday evening and was discovered dead on Monday morning, authorities said

Landon “Waldy” Raber, a 6-year-old boy from Virginia who went missing over the weekend, was found dead on Monday morning, officials announced.

Raber — who was non-verbal and diagnosed with autism — was found in a “small pond on the property that he went missing from,” the Buckingham County Department of Emergency Services said in a post on Facebook.

“While this was not the outcome anyone was wanting, or expecting, we’d like to thank everyone who was involved with searching all evening and all night,” the department said. “This includes, but [is] not limited to, VSP, all Buckingham Volunteer Fire Departments, BCDES, deputies from multiple other counties, and personnel from other volunteer fire departments.”

“Please keep the family in your thoughts, and respect their privacy during this difficult time,” they added.

Authorities were first notified of Raber’s disappearance around 8:45 p.m. on Sunday, according to the Toga Volunteer Fire Department.

Multiple agencies, including the Virginia Department of Emergency Management, Virginia State Police, and Buckingham County Sheriff’s Office, helped in the search.

Buckingham County Sheriff’s Office did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment on Monday. Officials have released no further details surrounding Raber’s death.

Following the tragic news, the family’s community arranged a gathering to honor Raber on Monday afternoon.

“This will be a place to pray for and support the family and also to remember the sweet life of Landon ‘Waldy’ Raber!” a statement on the event’s Facebook page read. “His short life has touched so many people and we want to take this time to show our support and grieve together as a community/friends/family!”

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