Boy’s body found in Asheboro pond

The search for a boy in Asheboro involved a major search effort. (Randolph County Sheriff’s Office photo)

ASHEBORO — The body of a 7-year-old boy who had been missing since the weekend was found in a pond, Randolph County Sheriff’s Office announced.

Laim King’s remains were found Tuesday morning in an area near Forest Hills Drive. That was near the area where he had been reported missing.

“We are absolutely devastated,” Randolph County Sheriff Gregory Seabolt said in a statement. “I wish more than anything that we had a different outcome—for Liam’s family, for our community, and for the hundreds of first responders and volunteers who poured their hearts into finding him alive,” the sheriff said.

The boy had cognitive impairments and initial information across the past couple of days from the sheriff’s office said that foul play wasn’t suspected.

An Amber Alert had been issued regarding King, whose body was sent to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Raleigh.

The sheriff’s office said that an investigation will be ongoing regarding King’s death.