Search for missing 6-year-old boy in Merrimack River suspended
NEWBURYPORT - The massive search for a missing 6-year-old boy in the Merrimack River has been suspended, authorities said Friday, a day after his mother, Boua DeChhat, drowned there.
Newburyport Fire Chief Christopher LeClaire said a family of six - a mother, father, two girls and two boys - drove to Deer Island Thursday and parked on the Newburyport side of the island to go fishing and swimming.
"At around 7 p.m. the 31-year-old father returned to where the car was parked to retrieve some gear. At around the same time the boy, we believe, reached for something in the water and fell in and was pulled away by the swift current," Massachusetts State Police spokesman Dave Procopio said in a statement Friday.
"The mother and daughter entered the water to save the boy and were also caught in the current. By this time the father has returned to the water's edge, saw his daughter and wife in the water, and entered the water and tried to reach them but could not and quickly got in trouble himself in the water. He made it back to shore and ended up being transported to Seabrook Hospital for exposure/hypothermia."
Procopio said the current swept the 29-year-old mother and her 7-year-old daughter under the Whittier Bridge and out into the river to the west of the bridge. A boater saw them struggling and pulled them up onto his boat.
Sue Bajko's husband Mark saw the whole thing.
"He heard the girl and mom scream 'Help!' saw them in the water. A boat came, brought them on the boat. He directed them to this dock here and the boater started CPR, then my husband did CPR until the police came," she told WBZ-TV.
"And you're just looking in her eyes and you're saying come on, come on, come on," said Mark Bajko.
Boua DeChhat was rushed to Anna Jaques Hospital where she died. LeClaire said the 7-year-old girl has been released from the hospital.
"She was the one that was saying my brother's in the water, my brother's in the water," Sue Bajko said.
The Coast Guard announced the search for the missing boy was suspended at 5 p.m. Friday. There were divers, boats and helicopters all involved in the search that covered 228 square miles.
LeClaire told reporters Friday they were searching the river and the shoreline based on where the boy might have gone into the water.
"The major challenge is the current in the river," he said.
A Coast Guard helicopter scanned the river from above with infrared technology to look for body heat in the water. Procopio said divers used side scan sonar as part of their search.
The Merrimack River is a popular spot for summer activities, but neighbors say it's also dangerous.
"Even if you're a very good swimmer you can drown. It's really tough. It was windy last night, the tide was going fast," Sue Bajko said.