Body of girl found near mouth of West Coast river
Saturday, 28 September 2019
The body of a girl believed to be 9-year-old Christchurch girl Emily Branje has been found.
The body was found near the mouth of the Grey River, near Cobden, on the West Coast on Saturday morning.
Police were alerted about 8.30am, a police spokeswoman said.
Formal identification has yet to be carried out, but police believe it is Emily, who was swept out to sea after falling in the Hokitika River on Thursday, the spokeswoman said.
READ MORE: Search for girl swept away in river to continue through the night
'Our thoughts are with her family at this tragic time,' she said.
'We would like to thank all the volunteers and members of the public who assisted in the search for Emily.'
Emily and a 69-year-old man, understood to be her step-granddad, fell into the the water at the river mouth on Thursday morning, triggering a large search involving police Search and Rescue (SAR), Coastguard, LandSAR, Maritime NZ, local surf rescue and a helicopter crew.
She had been spending school holidays with extended family in Hokitika.
Her family said in a statement on Friday they were in 'shock and grief' after receiving the news about their 'precious only child'.
'This is a tragic, incomprehensible time for us and we request privacy while we come to terms with what has happened.'
A member of the public pulled the man out of the water, but Emily went further out and was not found.
The rivermouth was searched Thursday overnight at low tide and a shoreline search continued on Friday. A helicopter was called in to access remote sections of the coast.
About 7pm on Friday, a police spokeswoman said the search had stopped for the day and would resume early on Saturday.
Senior Sergeant Brent Cook earlier said the pair 'got into trouble' at the river mouth.
They were not wearing lifejackets, he said.
Thursday's rescue efforts had to be abandoned for a time due to rough seas.