![Two paddles lying on kayak. This image does not represent the incident mentioned in the story. [Shutterstock/lkoimages]](https://images.dailycaller.com/image/width=960,height=411,fit=cover,f=auto/https://cdn01.dailycaller.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/shutterstock_214634083-scaled-e1655153476748.jpg "Two paddles lying on kayak. This image does not represent the incident mentioned in the story. [Shutterstock/lkoimages]")
A kayaker found the body of a six-year-old in a Massachusetts river Sunday after the child’s mother drowned days before trying to save him, according to authorities.
The kayaker, Darin Kelsey, came across the body Sunday in the waters near Amesbury and Newburyport, according to Fox News. Kelsey said he entered the waters because he wanted to help authorities find the missing boy.
“With deep sadness, we report that the body of 6-year-old drowning victim Was DeChhat was recovered from the Merrimack River today,” Massachusetts State Police said, according to the report. “Our prayers are with him, his mother Boua DeChhat who died trying to save him, and the loved ones they left behind.” (RELATED: Hiker Dies After Being Swept Out To Sea By Rough Waves)
DeChhat fell into the water Thursday night while fishing with family, NBC 10 Boston. His mother and 7-year-old sister jumped into the water to rescue DeChhat but were swept by the current. DeChhat’s mother, 29, drowned but authorities rescued his sister, according to the report. DeChhat’s mother reportedly could not swim.
Authorities say Mas DeChhat fell into the Merrimack River in Newburyport, a coastal city some 35 miles northeast of Boston on Thursday. https://t.co/i4wmV5LAa4
— CBS News (@CBSNews) June 13, 2022
Kelsey said he “saw him floating, and I have a young boy and a young girl, and just the image of that will always stay with me,” according to Fox News.
“I was out for a 30-minute kayak and I still can’t believe that I was the one that found him,” Kelsey said, according to NBC 10 Boston. “I went out and looked along the shores and looked under docks and I was on my way back in and saw something floating kind of in my path. I was hoping it was a stick or a log, and as I got closer I realized it was the boy. He kind of floated right by me.”