Hat Yai woke to heartbreak after a frantic overnight search ended in tragedy for a family who spent hours chasing a shadow. The missing child — a young boy affectionately known as Nong Inter — was found dead in the U-Tapao canal on the morning of September 18, just a day after he disappeared from a car repair shop where his father was working.
The boy vanished on Wednesday afternoon, September 17, from Ball Turbo car repair on Sakornmongkol 2 Road in Hat Yai District 8. Witnesses say he had been playing near the shop in a camouflage shirt and maroon shorts, happily occupied with a basket while his father tended to a motorcycle. What began as an ordinary afternoon collapsed into a community-wide search when Inter did not return.
His mother took to a local Facebook community group as anxiety turned to panic, posting a simple, heartbreaking plea: “Please help us find him. Share this post.” She explained that Inter was a child with special needs — able to recognise her name but with difficulty speaking — and urged anyone nearby to look for him. That post touched people across the neighbourhood and spurred volunteers, neighbours and rescue teams into action.
Rescue workers said they were notified about the missing child around 3pm on Wednesday. Family members, neighbours and volunteer teams combed the area through the dark hours, their search lit by phone torches and vehicle headlights. The search took on an urgency sharpened by a single clue: a basket matching the one the boy had been playing with was later found floating under a bridge. The father identified it as his son’s.
By 9:50am on September 18, residents reported a small body floating downstream in the U-Tapao canal, roughly 200 metres from the repair shop. Police Lieutenant Chaiyakrit Thongkham, Deputy Inspector at Hat Yai Police Station, arrived at the scene with medical staff and rescue volunteers from the Mitrapap Samakkhi Foundation. The boy’s body was taken to Hat Yai Hospital for a forensic examination.
The details shared by family members paint a quiet, ordinary domestic scene that makes the outcome all the more devastating. Inter’s father said the boy had come home from school, had milk and snacks, and was allowed to play while the father fixed a motorbike. “Then my other son came running and said Inter was gone,” he recounted, the shock in his words echoing the family’s grief.
The stepmother described the moment she realised something was terribly wrong: she had briefly stepped away to the bathroom and returned to find the boy missing. “He was playing with his father when I left. When I came back, he was gone,” she said. Small, everyday actions that turned the ordinary into an unspeakable loss.
Inter was the youngest member of the household and, by all accounts, a beloved presence. He loved to play with the family’s two rescued cats in a patch of wooded land behind the shop — a space that, while enchanting to a child, was also difficult for adults to monitor. The shaded tangle of trees and undergrowth that felt like a playground during the day became a grim landscape for rescuers combing the banks at night.
Local media outlet KhaoSod covered the grim discovery and relayed the sequence of events to a shaken public. Photos from the scene were circulated with care, and neighbours described the rescue volunteers working methodically along the canal, the community’s concern visible in the steady stream of people offering help, food, and prayers to the family.
While authorities have reported Inter’s body was sent for forensic examination at Hat Yai Hospital, formal findings and next steps remain pending. Police and investigators will examine the circumstances to determine what happened — whether it was a tragic accident, an unseen hazard, or something that requires further inquiry.
For now, the story rests with a family trying to process a sudden void and a neighbourhood that rallied, even as the outcome turned beyond hope. The mother’s Facebook post, once a plea for help to bring a child home, now stands as a stark reminder of how quickly safety can slip away and how communities can come together in response to crisis.
Neighbours say the family’s grief is shared across District 8. People who live and work around Sakornmongkol 2 Road — repair shop employees, local vendors, and volunteers from foundations like Mitrapap Samakkhi — have offered condolences and support. In the quieter moments, those who knew Inter speak of a boy who delighted in small things: a basket, a cat, the pocket-sized adventures behind a shop.
As Hat Yai waits for the results of the forensic examination and any official announcements from police, the threads of a community’s anguish are visible: a mother’s online plea, a father’s stunned retelling, volunteers who refused to stop searching through the night, and the sombre work of investigators piecing together a brief life that ended far too soon.
Authorities have asked anyone with information about the disappearance to come forward. For the family of Nong Inter, answers are a scarce comfort amid loss; for the community, the hope is that lessons from this tragedy can prevent another from happening.
My heart breaks for the family. That canal has been dangerous for years and nothing has changed. How many more children must be lost before they put proper barriers?
Parents should be held accountable if they leave a vulnerable child unattended near water; this shouldn’t be shrugged off as ‘just an accident’. But we also need safer infrastructure, not only blame.
I’m not saying they are monsters, I just want action and lessons learned. Community and authorities share responsibility and must work together.
This tragedy highlights gaps in urban safety planning and how vulnerable children are to open waterways. Forensic results will matter, but preventive measures like fencing and monitoring are cheaper than grief. Local governance must be pressured to act now.
People here always say ‘we’ll fix it later’—later never comes.
Exactly, and volunteer groups shouldn’t become the default safety net; municipalities must take responsibility.
As a forensic pathologist I must stress we can’t assume drowning without autopsy; timelines, injuries, and toxicology need study. Jumping to conclusions helps no one and can misdirect prevention efforts.
This makes me so angry. Kids are unpredictable and a moment is all it takes.
Angry at who? The father, the government, or chance? Blaming everyone dilutes responsibility; if you’re angry, channel it into something, like starting a petition for canal safety instead of just yelling online.
I’m starting a petition; I just needed to vent and find some direction. Thanks for the push, even if it was blunt.
It hurts more knowing Inter had special needs and might have been less able to get himself to safety. Communities must specially protect kids who are more vulnerable. Social support for families with special needs is essential.
Why wasn’t someone watching him closely? That’s a hard question, not necessarily an accusation. I hope policy changes can help parents get extra support.
I don’t want to shame the family — grief is heavy — but we must recognize disability as a risk factor in safety planning. Awareness leads to concrete protections.
This will be used on local news for weeks. People will cry, then forget, and action rarely follows outrage.
The mother’s plea on Facebook shows how grassroots networks mobilize, but it also exposes vulnerable families. Social media can save lives but can’t replace formal emergency services. We need better hotlines and faster official response.
Schools should teach water safety from an early age and families with special needs children should get extra training and support.
Yes, education matters, but training alone isn’t enough when the physical environment is hazardous. Authorities must respond quicker to online alerts from trusted local groups.
Also train first responders to search canals efficiently at night; flashlight searches by volunteers are not enough and can miss evidence.
I live near Hat Yai and this breaks me. There are too many open drains and canals everywhere.
I’ve reported dangerous holes near my place twice and nothing was done, so I’m frustrated.
Volunteers tried hard all night and that shows the best of this community, but volunteers shouldn’t be substitutes for professional rescue teams. Recognition and funding for local rescue foundations are overdue.
Or maybe require workshops for business owners whose shops adjoin hazards; they have a responsibility too, and a sticker campaign could help raise awareness.
Owner responsibility is part of the solution. Simple measures like temporary barriers and clearer sight lines could prevent tragedies.
My kid is ten and I can’t imagine what that family is going through. This should be a wake-up call for parents and policymakers everywhere.
From an investigative standpoint, open waterways in urban areas are a recurring hazard; multidisciplinary response teams reduce ambiguity and improve prevention. The autopsy will clarify whether drowning was immediate or if there were other contributing factors. We must resist quick judgments until official findings are released.
Families deserve answers now, not just ‘wait for autopsy.’ Transparency matters and quick communication from police would help calm fears.
Transparency is important, but premature leaks can harm investigations; officials should release facts responsibly when ready.
Families also need counseling during the waiting period; bureaucracy can retraumatize them if support isn’t immediate.
Agreed, victim support must be immediate and separate from investigative constraints.
Why are canals so accessible to kids? This looks like systemic neglect. We need mandatory barriers and maintenance schedules.
I’m starting a neighborhood petition tomorrow to demand action from the municipality.
Please don’t start blaming each other in the comments; this is a grieving family and they need support, not internet judges. If you want to help, donate to local volunteers and ask how you can assist practically.