Body Of Missing 6-Year-Old Boy Found In Merrimack River

Beverly MA

12 June, 2022

3:19 PM

Description

AMESBURY, MA — The body of a 6-year-old boy missing and presumed drowned in the Merrimack River since Thursday was found early Sunday afternoon. Amesbury police said the boy's body was found a couple of hours after recovery operations resumed for the day. "It is with great sadness we must report the body of the young boy has been recovered," Amesbury police said in a statement. "The family has been notified and we pray this gives the family some closure." A kayaker operating in the Pipers Quarry area of the Merrimack River located what is believed to be the body of 6-year-old Mas DeChhat. The body will be turned over to the office of the state's Chief Medical Examiner for positive identification. A family of six — two parents and four children — were believed to have been swimming or fishing at Deer Island Thursday night when the current swept away two children and their mother. A nearby fishing boat was the first to arrive on the scene. The captain helped to pull a 7-year-old girl and the mother onto the boat. The girl was conscious and alert, but her mother was unresponsive. The woman, Boua DeChhat, 29, was taken to Anna Jaques Hospital but did not survive. Police and Fire Marine Units, State Police and Boston Fire dive teams and Harbormasters searched the river aggressively over the past four days. "The joint search teams and first responders together send their deepest sympathies and condolences to the DeChhat family," Newburyport Fire Chief Christopher LeClaire and City Marshal Mark Murray, Essex County District Attorney Jonathan Blodgett and Massachusetts State Police Colonel Christopher Mason said in a joint statement Sunday afternoon. (Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at [email protected]. Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)