MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS: A seven-year-old girl from Massachusetts who went missing on Sunday, July 9, has been found dead. As per Middlesex District Marian Ryan, Anna Mburu's body was recovered from a Massachusetts river on Monday, July 11. "We are all heartbroken to be here this afternoon to report that it appears that the end of the search has come with the recovery of a body of a young child, preliminarily identified as 7-year-old Anna Mburu," she said in a statement.
Anna’s family called Lowell Police around 3 pm on Sunday 9 July and reported that they haven’t seen their daughter from their driveway since then. The authorities immediately began a search operation in a nearby neighborhood with the help of K-9 teams, drones, the Massachusetts State Police Air Wing, and ground search teams on foot, bicycles, and ATVs.
Who was Anna Mburu?
Anna Mburu was autistic and nonverbal. Her body was found in the Merrimack River near the Trull Brook Golf Course in Tewksbury. The search team comprised members of the Massachusetts State Police Underwater Recovery Team, as per Ryan and Lowell Chief of Police Greg Hudon.
"The environmental police were able to locate on one of their boats an image that they believed to be Anna. They were using what technology referred to as side scan or sonar," said Ryan in the news conference. The police further explained that the recent heavy rain made the body go deeper than usual and moved faster than usual when divers recovered it just before noon on Monday.
The girl was in eight to nine feet of water about 15 to 20 yards from shore. Police are still investigating the case and once the medical examination is completed, it will release the official cause of death. However, no signs of foul play were found, reports People.
'A prayer vigil held for Anna'
As per WCVB-TV, the local community called for a prayer vigil for Anna on Monday night at Saint Michael Parish. Anna's siblings, a brother, and two sisters, attended the church's school as per the outlet.
Tom Golden, Lowell City Manager commented on the tragic death after the search operation concluded, "It was a beautiful thing last night to see the number of [people] walking around until 11:30 with their flashlights out looking for wherever a child could be." He added, "Hundreds of individual people walking up and down the streets just trying to see if there would be a better outcome."
