Search crews were back on the Passaic River Thursday morning after three children fell into the water Wednesday night, and the effort was now focused on finding a missing 10-year-old girl. A 10-year-old boy was recovered dead about 10 p.m. Wednesday, turning the response from a rescue into a recovery mission.
The renewed search followed reports at about 6:21 p.m. Wednesday that children had gone into the river near the off-ramp in Pulaski Park. Hector Lora said an 11-year-old girl had gotten out of the water and was back with her mother, but two others were still unaccounted for at that point: her 10-year-old brother and the friend who was with them.
Lora said the 11-year-old girl told investigators the three were in the water and trying to get out when she reached a different point and climbed to safety. He said she was worried about her brother and the girl who remained missing. That detail put a human face on a scene that was already moving fast and growing worse by the hour.
By late Wednesday night, the boy’s body had been recovered, and the missing child was still the 10-year-old girl. The 11-year-old who made it out on her own is the boy’s sister, and the girl still being searched for is their friend. That left crews with one urgent task on Thursday morning: continue looking along the Passaic River for the child who had not yet been found.
Lora also said a man in the park jumped into the water in an effort to save the children, underscoring how quickly the scene turned chaotic. But the basic question behind the emergency remained unanswered on Thursday: how the three children ended up in the river near Pulaski Park in the first place.
For now, the facts point to a search that continued after dark, through the night and into Thursday, because one child had been accounted for, one child had died and one child was still missing. The river gave back one answer Wednesday night. It had not yet given up the rest.
