Search for Khyzah: Body of missing Gisborne 5-year-old found

The body of a five-year-old boy missing near Gisborne has been found in a farm pond near his home.

Khyzah went missing from his home in the rural Hangaroa district of Gisborne and had not been seen since about 2pm on Sunday.

Specialist search teams, rescue dogs, a helicopter and up to 300 people from the area were involved in searching for him.

The pond was about 100 metres from his house.

The police dive squad spent about an hour searching before he was found.

His family were sobbing and keening as they walked his body across a paddock after he was found.

Khyzah's father yelled out "I've lost my f***ing son" as he nearly fell, but he was held up by whānau.

Dozens of people surrounded the grieving family as they lifted Khyzah's stretcher up and carried him down the driveway to his home.

The family have requested privacy to mourn.

Earlier, RNZ reporter Alexa Cook told Checkpoint the area where Khyzah went missing was a "really rough part of the country".

"It's beautiful but it is steep, it's gnarly, there's lots of big high hills, low gullies, lots of ponds and rivers and waterways that can all be pretty treacherous for a little five-year-old autistic boy," she said.

She said people from Wairoa, Gisborne and even a busload of people from Tolaga Bay had turned up for the search on Monday.

Tai Rāwhiti area commander Inspector Darren Paki said it was a sad end to a huge search effort.

"This is obviously not the outcome we, the searchers, and the community were hoping for," he said.

"I would like to thank everyone in the community who has contributed to this effort, whether it was actively searching, or simply providing kai and kind words.

"We have a wonderful tight-knit community here and we see the best of it in situations like this."

Paki said Khyzah's whānau would be offered appropriate support as they came to terms with what happened.

Khyzah's death will be referred to the coroner, he said.