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Missing 6-year-old boy with autism found dead after overnight search led to Westford lake, police say
Shortly after midnight, authorities found the child, identified as Zayan Mayanja, in the water of Nabnasset Lake behind a home on Lake Shore Drive.
A 6-year-old boy with autism drowned after getting out of his Westford home via a window Sunday night, according to police.
Westford police responded to a home on Chestnut Road in the Nabnasset section of town shortly after 9 p.m. for a report that a non-verbal child with autism had escaped the residence.
An extensive search by local and state authorities on foot, by boat, and in the air followed.
Shortly after midnight, a NEMLEC K9 Unit and Westford police officer found the child, identified as Zayan Mayanja, in the water of Nabnasset Lake behind a home on Lake Shore Drive.
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Police and firefighters attempted life-saving measures before transporting the boy to Lowell General Hospital where he was later pronounced dead.
Mayanja was a student in Westford Public Schools. Grief counselors are available for any friends or family members of Mayanja, police said.
An investigation by Westford police and State Police troopers assigned to the Middlesex District Attorney’s Office remains ongoing.
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