Missing 4-year-old boy's body recovered from Merrimack River in Tewksbury

Local News

Authorities recovered the body that has been tentatively identified as Azriel Lopez of Lawrence.

Robin Strong, of Tewksbury, returned to the area in Lowell on April 20, 2025, where a young boy was believed to have fallen in the Merrimack River. Authorities have since recovered the body that has been tentatively identified as Azriel Lopez of Lawrence.
Pat Greenhouse / The Boston Globe

The body of the 4-year-old boy who was swept away by the Merrimack River was recovered on Friday, officials say.

At 9 a.m., an off-duty lieutenant with the Massachusetts State Police who was on the river in his personal boat found what appeared to be a body in the water near the Trull Brook Golf Course in Tewksbury, according to a statement from the Middlesex District Attorney’s Office.

Authorities responded to the scene and recovered the body that has been tentatively identified as Azriel Lopez of Lawrence, the statement said.

Roughly 25 agencies — including the Massachusetts State Police, Lowell police, and the Boston Fire Department — have been involved in the ongoing search for the boy, who had been missing since April 19 when he accidentally fell into the river.

There have been other similar incidents in recent years. Several children have drowned in the river, including an 11-year-old girl in 2021 and a 7-year-old girl in 2023.