A missing seven-year-old boy with autism was found dead in a backyard swimming pool in Menands, New York, on Tuesday, June 30, 2026.
Harbe Nagi, who was nonverbal and barefoot, disappeared from a family gathering on Park Drive on Sunday afternoon.
The discovery followed an intensive two-day search involving neighbors, forest rangers, and police using drones, K9 teams, and helicopters.
The child's uncle, who serves as the mayor of Hamtramck, Michigan, confirmed the news online.
"We are devastated to share that he was found deceased. Thank you everyone who helped in the search," said Adam Alharbi, uncle of the boy.
Prior to the discovery, authorities had deployed specialized search tactics in the neighborhood and nearby woods.
"It is believed at this time that he may have wandered off," said Kevin Schwebke, lieutenant of the Menands Police Department.
Schwebke noted that investigators were keeping open minds regarding the timeline.
"There is no indication anyone was involved in his disappearance, but all possibilities are currently being investigated," he said.
State environmental conservation officers coordinated volunteer efforts and urged property owners to repeatedly inspect their grounds.
"The best thing people can do to help us find Harbe is to really look at your own property, especially folks nearby, check your yards, out buildings, any water body, pools, ponds, any attractive nuisance like that," said Charles Kabrehl, a New York State Department of Environmental Conservation forest ranger.
Local residents joined the search immediately after learning the child had gone missing from a neighborhood graduation party.
"I opened my garage, went all around my house, you never know, looked everywhere in my back yard.
And then after that I went out with the search," said Heidi Iyok, a neighbor.
Community members kept outdoor lighting illuminated through the night to assist search teams.
"I've never seen this block brighter than this time," said Pharryll Elad, a neighbor.
Volunteers from neighboring towns also arrived, using strategies suggested by educators to help locate the nonverbal child.
"I have mom syndrome and I just felt worried and concerned and felt like the more people there are, the more we could help," said Stephanie Snyder, a volunteer.
Search groups focused on wooded areas while playing the child's favorite nursery rhyme from their phones.
"A teacher, a family teacher stopped us, she told us to play 'Twinkle Twinkle, Little Star' on our phones.
She gave us a Gatorade if we saw him," said Amanda Varin, a volunteer.
Local families emphasized that the safety of the missing boy was a shared responsibility.
"Because he could be my child," said Iyok.
"He could be anybody's child. We have to come out as a community and look for him.
We cannot let it go," she added.
A law enforcement source told the Times Union that while the circumstances are unusual, there is currently no indication of criminality, and the investigation remains ongoing.
