Family and friends gathered this weekend to remember the life of a 3-year-old boy who was found dead earlier this month in a pond in Lowell, Massachusetts, one day after going missing from his babysitter's house.
Many who gathered at the Waltham middle school Saturday to share condolences and prayers for the boy's family were involved in the search for Harry Kkonde after he went missing on June 14.
During Saturday's service, Harry's dad and a representative from the Uganda Boston Community Association spoke about how the community is hurting from this devastating loss.
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"Harry will truly be missed," Samuel Kkonde said. "My heart breaks wherever I hear the loss of a child. I know my life will never be the same without my Harry in it."
"We need to pray for the babysitter, too, to take time for both parties to heal but as a community we need to start the healing process by...loving and forgiving each other," the UBCA representative said.
A fundraiser for Harry's funeral expenses raised thousands of dollars. The family is planning a burial for Harry in Uganda in the coming days.
A pastor close to the Kkonde family told NBC10 Boston on Saturday they are comforted by the community's support but they do still have questions about how Harry disappeared and how he died.
Harry was reported missing from his babysitter's Freda Lane house around 9:30 a.m. on June 14, fifteen minutes after he had been seen playing in the babysitter's backyard.
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Following a massive search effort involving at least 200 first responders, the little boy's body was found in a pond around 1:10 p.m. the next day in about five feet of water. The pond was next to a Christmas tree farm and only about 650 feet from where Harry was last seen.
The district attorney's office is continuing to investigate how Harry ended up in a pond on the neighboring farm.
