St. Cloud police say body of 6-year-old child with special needs found in Mississippi

The Associated Press
July 24, 2015 at 5:39PM
Police released these images of Hamza Elmi when they were searching for the St. Cloud boy, whose body later was found in the Mississippi River.
Police released these images of Hamza Elmi, a missing St. Cloud boy. (Randy Salas/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

ST. CLOUD, Minn. — St. Cloud police say the body of a missing boy with special needs has been found in the Mississippi River.

Authorities say 6-year-old Hamza Elmi walked away from his home and was last seen about 8:30 p.m. Thursday in St. Cloud. The boy's pink scooter was found at the river about 8 a.m. Friday and a water search was launched.

Police Chief William Blair Anderson said at a news conference Friday "our worst nightmare has come to fruition and a family is without a child."

Community members and police had searched throughout the night for the boy.

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