A 3-year-old north Georgia boy who wandered away from his home was found dead hours later in a nearby pond, according to police.

The boy’s mother called 911 shortly before 9 a.m. to report him missing from the family’s Hemlock Trail home in Dahlonega, the Lumpkin County Sheriff’s Office said.

Law enforcement agencies from five counties, the Georgia State Patrol and the Department of Natural Resources searched for hours for the child, but the search ended tragically when his body was found in a pond. Divers located Charles J. Lewis in a pond about a quarter-mile from his home, the sheriff’s office said.

An autopsy will be conducted at the GBI crime lab. The GBI is also investigating the boy’s death.