Body of missing 10-year-old boy is pulled from freezing Massachusetts river three days after his cousin, 11, was found and died hours later
- The second boy, 10, was pulled from the Chicopee River on Tuesday afternoon
- He and his cousin had gone to play in the Chicopee woods on Saturday morning and never returned
- They are believed to have fallen into the river while walking on the ice
- Multiple public safety agencies launched a search and rescue operation
- The 11-year-old boy was pulled from the freezing water on Saturday evening and died in the hospital soon after
The body of a 10-year-old boy has been recovered from a freezing Massachusetts river three days after he went missing with his 11-year-old cousin.
The boys, who have not been named, wandered into the woods near Chicopee on Saturday morning and never returned, sparking a ‘significant search and rescue operation’ by multiple public safety agencies.
They are believed to have ventured onto the unstable ice covering the Chicopee River and fallen in.
The elder boy was pulled from the freezing water on Saturday evening and died in the hospital soon after.
Dive and boat crews continued combing the river for the second boy for three days and finally located his body early Tuesday afternoon.
The body of a 10-year-old boy was recovered from a freezing Massachusetts river on Tuesday afternoon, three days after he went missing with his 11-year-old cousin
Rescue crews are seen combing the Chicopee River in Massachusetts on Sunday after the boy’s 11-year-old cousin was pulled from the water the night before and later died
Family members reported the two boys missing at around 1pm Saturday after they went out to play in the woods behind Oxford Court.
‘It is believed the boys made their way to the Chicopee River, where they ventured out on to the ice,’ James Leydon, a spokesman for District Attorney Anthony Gulluni, told MassLive.
The search was led by the Chicopee Police and Fire departments with assistance from the Massachusetts State Police, South Hadley Fire Department, Hampden Sheriff’s Department and Environmental State Police.
The boys wandered into the woods near Chicopee on Saturday morning and never returned. They are believed to have ventured onto the unstable ice covering the Chicopee River and fallen in. Rescue boats are seen searching the river on Sunday
Chicopee and Massachusetts State Police dive teams spent Saturday afternoon and all day Sunday scanning the river for signs of the children while three boats searched the surface.
K9 units combed through the wooded area while drones and a helicopter from the State Police Airwing searched overhead.
The 11-year-old boy, who lived in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, was found in the river at about 7pm Saturday and was taken by ambulance to Baystate Medical Center. He was then airlifted to Boston Children’s Hospital, where he later died.
The 10-year-old boy, a fifth-grader at Sgt Robert R Litwin School in Chicopee, was already deceased when rescuers found him.
The childrens’ families have asked for privacy as they mourn the loss.
The search was led by the Chicopee Police and Fire departments with assistance from the Massachusetts State Police, South Hadley Fire Department, Hampden Sheriff’s Department and Environmental State Police