The father of Noah, the three-year-old boy who was found dead after going missing from a playground, has spoken of his heartbreak and thanked the community who launched a tireless search for his son.

Rhys Woods said there were “no words to describe the pain of this loss”, adding that the family was “absolutely heartbroken”.

The small village of Brantham, in Suffolk, had mobilised on Tuesday, when Noah went missing after becoming separated from a relative at 2.37pm. He is thought to have gone down a woodland path towards the pond where his body was found.

More than 1,300 people from the village and beyond descended on the area to search for Noah. They scoured the woodlands and fields around the area close to the River Stour on the Essex border as helicopters flew overhead. On Wednesday afternoon, a body was discovered at the pond, a short walk from the playground.

Woods said: “Noah was the sweetest and most innocent little boy, with nothing but love to give, and we are going to miss him so very much. It seems he has made an impact across the whole nation.

“The compassion shown by all of you will never be forgotten by us, and brought us comfort and strength at the darkest time of our lives.”

On Thursday, the normally busy playground from which Noah disappeared was silent, save for the crying of people leaving bunches of flowers, which lined the length of the wooden fence surrounding the park.

“We didn’t know you, but we helped to find you,” read one note propped up against the fence. Another read: “We are sorry we couldn’t get to you sooner.” One person from the village wrote: “Little Noah, may you rest in eternal peace. You will remain in the hearts of the village and of all your friends.”

The mood on Thursday morning was muted. The leisure centre had been turned into a makeshift community hub, with a response centre consisting of councillors, local police and volunteers having meetings in the adjacent village hall.

Goldie, who did not want to give her surname, was volunteering to help run the community hub, where a handful of people chatted quietly. She said: “We’re providing a place for people to gather, and we’ve made a tribute book. Tributes are pouring in online, but for the family there is frankly some abuse online so we want them to have something to look at while avoiding that. The community is reeling.

“It’s a small village, and 1,300 people came to volunteer. If there was a chance for him to be found he would have been. Everyone did their very best. Obviously, we are all very upset today.”

The police ran out of hi-vis vests because so many people turned out to help find Noah, and the force was not entirely prepared for the logistics of a huge search party descending on the small area.

Sgt Claire Connick told the Guardian: “I feel so grateful for the community. The way people pulled together was just phenomenal. A man explained to me that he had been up all night until 4am searching. We even had people volunteering to control the traffic. The traffic and parking was something we didn’t factor in, just the volume of people asking how they could help.”

The love for the family and sorrow at the loss was evident. The local Co-op ran out of flowers, and the branch in the next town over, Manningtree, was also running low.

Noah apparently loved the cartoon dog Bluey, and was wearing a T-shirt depicting the character when he went missing. At the playground people had left stuffed toys depicting Bluey, and flowers with Bluey stickers on the cellophane.

Candles had been lit, but the drizzle had snuffed many of them out. A fundraiser gathering donations to support the family stands at £21,000, and Ipswich Town football club arranged to lay a wreath at the playground.

Specialist police officers were supporting Noah’s parents, who had to identify their son’s body on Wednesday night. Connick said: “The nurses and doctors lined up to walk the family into hospital which was a wonderful thing. There really has been so much support for the family.” She added that there would be an increased police presence in the area to help support the community.

Louise Madley, the manager of Brantham leisure centre, said: “There are far too many people to name individually, but to every single person who searched, donated, organised, sent messages of support, delivered supplies, supported the emergency services or helped in any way, thank you so much. Brantham, over the last 24 hours, we have witnessed something truly extraordinary in our village. Something I will, and I am sure others will, never forget. Noah, your memory will forever live on.”

Wood added: “This was the most heartbreaking outcome for us. We were just hoping that he would be hiding somewhere obvious where someone could find him, that’s what we kept telling ourselves the whole time. With our love and deepest gratitude, from his daddy and mummy and little brother, Noah you will be loved forever, you will never be forgotten and we miss you so so much. It has been a privilege to be your parents and be able to have packed so much love in the short three years you were with us.”