The body of a missing 4-year-old boy was found Monday morning in Minnehaha Creek after an intensive search, Hopkins police said.
Law enforcement confirmed the body to be that of Waeys Ali Mohamed, who was last seen Sunday morning, Hopkins police Capt. Craig Kreiling said Monday at a news conference. The boy’s body was found in the creek around 10:40 a.m. about 500 yards downstream from his family’s apartment building by a volunteer assisting with the search effort, Kreiling said.
Kreiling extended his condolences to both Waeys’ family and Hopkins’ Somali community. While there is an active investigation, evidence points to this being a “tragic accident” where the boy left the apartment building on his own, Kreiling said.
“There is no room to try and blame anybody else right now; this is a horrible, tragic accident from everything we are able to determine,” Kreiling said.

The boy had autism and was nonverbal, according to the alert issued Sunday. Police suspect the boy drowned, Kreiling said, adding the Hennepin County Medical Examiner’s office will determine the cause of death.
A small memorial of toys, flowers, candles and balloons was on display Monday near the creek. Nearby residents visited to pay their respects.
Danielle Danielson of Plymouth said she spent hours searching in the woods and knocking on doors to ask if neighbors had seen Waeys. She said some volunteers were out until midnight with flashlights and that others waded into the creek or paddled in canoes.
“It’s just so weird because we were searching this whole area yesterday, all day long in the same place where they found him,” she said.