The hearing held in front of Coroner Alexander Ho at the Invercargill District Court continued this morning and heard from three more witnesses.
Lachie was found dead in a Gore oxidation pond on January 29, 2019 and police quickly determined it was an accidental drowning.
That view, however, has been hotly contested, particularly by the boy's father Paul Jones.
Lisa Harris told the inquest today that she was sitting in her living room with the sliding door open around 9pm on the day in question.
“I [saw] a wee kid run past in a yellow vest. There were other kids out in the street around that time as well,” Ms Harris said.
Other neighbours Wesley Gray and John Bennett both joined the search when they found out Lachie was missing.
Mr Bennett said during his search he stood up on a mound of dirt and saw a shirtless man jogging near the oxidation ponds.
The witness said he thought it was “unusual” for someone to be running in that area but he assumed it was someone looking for Lachie.
Earlier this week the court heard from the 3-year-old’s mother Michelle Officer, his two half-brother’s Jonathan and Cameron Scott as well as other neighbours.
Max Simpkins, counsel for Lachie’s father, asked the three family members if they knew Lachie was dead before he was reported missing and had worked together to make it look like an accident.
Cameron Scott said that was a “disgusting accusation” and his brother said the claim was “ridiculous”.
The court has heard that Lachie was an adventurous boy who liked to play hide-and-seek and climb on furniture.
However Jonathan Scott agreed it would be “out of character” for the boy to have run more than a kilometre on his own as police concluded after the initial investigation.
No other witnesses are being called today and the inquest will resume on Monday.
