Helicopters, police divers, heat-seeking drones and anxious members of the public spent three days scouring a remote Queensland cattle station for missing toddler Ruben Scott.

SES volunteers were among those who searched the 170,000-hectare station on the Cape York Peninsula for signs of the two-year-old.

Tragically, in the end, Ruben's body was found just 100 metres from his his family home, where he loved to play.

"Probably one of the saddest parts is that, as big as the station is, as intense and as comprehensive as the search was, the reality is that he was located only 100 metres away," Chief Superintendent Brian Huxley announced following the tragic discovery.

Chevron Right Icon 'The reality is that he was located only 100 metres away.'

"You've got to remember at the start that we were searching for the little boy, we wanted to bring him home.

"It wasn’t until well after the survivability had passed that we then started to look at those immense waterways."

It was in those waterways, which crocodiles are known to frequent, where Ruben's little body was discovered on Friday afternoon shortly before 3.30 pm.

Ruben and his mother Natasha. Credit: 7NEWS

'This is just a pure tragedy'

RELATED: Body found in search for missing toddler Ruben Scott

Ruben was last seen by his mother Natasha Scott at 5.44pm on Tuesday before he wandered away from the homestead.

Earlier on Friday, the toddler's grandfather Noel Scott said the family was "preparing for the worst" but still hoped they could find the little boy.

Seven helicopters and heat seeking drones had been crisscrossing the 170,000-hectare station as others searched on foot, horseback or motorbike.

The boy's desperate family, police, State Emergency Service crews and some 20 people from neighbouring properties also joined forces for the search.

A wider image of Koolatah Station, which SES volunteers scoured for three days. Credit: Google Earth

Huxley said the entire community has been devastated by the news.

"This is just a pure tragedy, the loss of a little life under these circumstances is really really difficult for people to grasp a hold," he added.

News of Ruben's death sparked an outpouring of condolences for the little boy's family on his mum's Facebook page.

Chevron Right Icon 'This is just a pure tragedy.'

"There’s no words for this day, I’m sitting here crying, my heart aching for all of you! Sending all the love and strength one Mum can to another," one mother wrote.

"This has me absolutely bawling my heart out for you as a mother myself I can't imagine your pain," another wrote.

A report is now being prepared for the coroner.