The child disappeared in the Merrimack River on Thursday night while with his family, who were fishing and swimming in Deer Island, a recreation area near the border Amesbury and Newburyport, police said. The search for the boy – identified by Massachusetts State Police as Lowell’s Mas DeChhat – continued Saturday morning. State police divers and boat operators continued to search the river with divers from the Boston Fire Department using sonar devices and tow rods. Local authorities who also took part in the investigation said on Friday that the first correspondents had turned to a recovery effort. “We’ve seen a lot of river tragedies, but not usually affecting an entire family,” Newburyport Fire Chief Christopher LeClaire told reporters Friday. Emergency crews are searching for a missing 6-year-old boy on the Merrimack River near Amesbury, Massachusetts, June 10, 2022. WCVB Mas was allegedly pulling out a stick when he fell into the water around 7 a.m. Thursday, state police said. His 7-year-old sister tried to grab him and also fell into the water. As the two were swept away by the rush, their mother “went into the water to save her children,” Massachusetts State Police spokesman Dave Procopio said in a statement Saturday. Their mother, identified as 29-year-old Boua DeChhat, “was not known to be swimming,” Procopio said. While the three were swept away by the current, the children’s father also went into the water to try to save them. “The father was also not a swimmer, he could not reach his loved ones and he started fighting himself,” said Prokopios. The father managed to return to shore and was later hospitalized for exposure to cold water, police said. Boua DeChhat and her daughter were eventually pulled out of the water by a fishing boat operator. The mother was not responding while her daughter was awake, authorities said. The two were taken to a nearby hospital, where their mother was pronounced dead. Since then, the daughter was hospitalized and released. Local resident Mark Bajko told ABC Boston affiliate WCVB that a police officer also gave the mother CPR after she was pulled ashore. “The little girl stopped crying and shouting, ‘My brother is still in the water,’” Baiko told the station. Mas was not seen in the water when his mother and sister were pulled over, police said. Emergency crews are searching for a missing 6-year-old boy on the Merrimack River near Amesbury, Massachusetts, June 10, 2022. WCVB LeClaire said the strong current in the river has sparked research efforts. The U.S. Coast Guard has also been involved in the investigation since the boy entered the water. The Boston Coast Guard said Friday night it had suspended its investigation “pending new information.” “It is always a difficult decision to suspend a search and rescue case, and even more painful when children are involved,” Capt. Kailie Benson, Boston Coast Guard Commander, said in a statement. “Taking into account the extensive search efforts by the Coast Guard and the numerous state and local services, along with the prevailing conditions on the scene, I decided to suspend the search for the missing 6-year-old boy.” He added: “Our prayers are with the family and friends of the boy and his mother during this time.”
