About 100 bunches of flowers have been left at the playground where he was last seen and more than £15,000 has been donated to a fundraiser to support his family.
Willis, parish rector of St Michael’s Church in Brantham, said he had “never seen anything like” the outpouring of support.
“I was moved, overwhelmed and staggered actually that people were coming from far and wide,” he said.
“It was hundreds, even into the thousands, coming together with one deep, common concern to find a little boy, who longed to find a happy ending for him and his family.
“Sadly, very sadly that wasn’t to be.”
