Body found in desperate hunt for missing boy, 11, who went swimming in river.
A BODY has been discovered in the desperate hunt for an 11-year-old boy who went missing in a river.
Mackenzie Swift vanished after entering the water in Mexborough, South Yorkshire, at around 8pm on Saturday.
Cops said Mackenzie’s family were living “every parent’s worst nightmare” after he disappeared in the River Don.
A 48-hour-long rescue operation was launched shortly after, with underwater search teams called in to assist.
Releasing an image of the youngster yesterday, South Yorkshire Police said he “could not have survived” being in the water for this long.
The force has since confirmed a body was discovered shortly before 11pm last night.
Chief Superintendent Pete Thorp, district commander for Doncaster, praised the work of the crews involved in the search.
He said: “First and foremost, I send deepest sympathies to his family and friends. Losing a child is every parent’s worst nightmare.
“I know the impact this news will have on the wider community and particularly Mackenzie’s school.
“The search for Mackenzie has been a real multi-agency effort and, while SYP are thankful to our emergency service colleagues and the underwater search team, I would like to take a moment to recognise Woodhead Mountain Rescue.
“While highly trained and skilled, many of their team are volunteers who give up their time to help search teams when they need it most.
“I would also like to thank the local community, who enabled us to conduct our search and recovery with very few onlookers and cameras to give Mackenzie and his family the dignity they deserve.
“Not only for that, but also for the offers of assistance – we knew we had many members of the public willing to do anything they could to help.”
Mackenzie is the 18th person to have tragically died in the water across the UK and Ireland following the recent spate of hot weather.
The body of 15-year-old Abbie Carmody-Pepper was recovered off Burrow Beach near Howth, Dublin, on May 24.
On the same day, a 72-year-old woman tragically died in the water in Pembrokeshire, Wales.
And the body of Declan Sawyer, 15, was found by police after they conducted an extensive search of Swanholme Lakes in Lincoln.
Just 24 hours later, on Bank Holiday Monday, there were another five deaths in similar circumstances.
Reco Puttock, 13, died after being rushed to hospital after being pulled from Leadbeater Dam in Halifax, West Yorkshire.
The body of 16-year-old Lillianna Tomlinson was recovered from Kingsbury Water Park, Warwickshire.
Muhammad Secka, 16, also sadly died in the water at Rother Valley in South Yorkshire.
Phil Crow, 68, also lost his life after running into the water when his granddaughter and wife were pulled out to sea in Cornwall.
Chiedza Nyanjowa, 15, was rushed to hospital after an incident on Formby beach, Merseyside, but tragically died of her injuries.
On Tuesday afternoon, Junior Slater, 12, vanished while swimming with friends in the River Ribble, in Lancashire.
The body of 17-year-old David Tita Jr was found at Pickmere Lake, in Cheshire, after an extensive search operation with a police helicopter.
A teenager was also pulled from Hawley Lake near Farnborough, on the border of Hampshire and Surrey, the same afternoon.
On Wednesday, the body of a 15-year-old boy was recovered from a pond in Swanscombe, Kent.
Baltazar L’Quy, 14, died the same day after getting into difficulty in the River Thames in Oxford.
The following evening, Charlie Noble, 16, was recovered from the water at Bracklinn Falls near Callander, Stirling.
A 19-year-old became the fifteenth teen perish after being pulled from Balderton Lake in Nottinghamshire.
On Saturday, a woman aged in her 60s died after entering the sea at Fleetwood Beach in Lancashire to rescue her dog.
And yesterday, police confirmed a 13-year-old girl had died after going missing in a beauty spot river near Burnsall, North Yorkshire.
Source: https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/39281957/body-found-missing-boy-swimming-river/
