State police and other authorities were still searching the Merrimack River on Friday for a 6-year-old boy who fell into the water off Deer Island on Thursday night while searching for something, reports said. A family of six was fishing and swimming in the river in Newburyport when the 31-year-old father left the group to get something in the car, according to NBC Boston. The boy fell near the Whittier Bridge and his mother and 7-year-old sister followed in an apparent attempt to save him, but were also dragged off the shore, police told the station. The father hurriedly got out of the car and also dived into the water, but due to the difficulty of the current, he returned to the shore, the report said. Authorities were still searching the river on Friday for the boy. WBTSThe mother could not pull herself into a fishing boat that came to save her and her daughter. WBTS A fishing boat captain saw the mother and young girl fighting in the river and came to help – with the mother helping her daughter get on the boat before she fell below the surface, unable to climb, officials said. When she was pulled out with cardiopulmonary resuscitation, she was given but did not respond and was later pronounced dead at Anna Jaques Hospital, according to authorities. The woman’s identity has not been revealed pending family notification, Newburyport Mayor Sean Reardon wrote on his blog. Divers and a helicopter were assisting in the search for the boy on Friday, according to Massachusetts police. With Post cables
