AMESBURY, Mass. — The search resumed Saturday morning for Mas DeChhat, a 6-year-old boy who remains missing after being swept into the Merrimack River.
State Police said the search effort included four boats and more than a dozen divers.
Divers have been using sidescan sonar – a device deployed on the side of a boat that uses sound waves to map and detect objects and anomalies in the water – in their search. If something is detected, they go under to investigate.
Boats also pulled divers holding tow bars through the water.
Police said Mas’s mother, 29-year-old Boua DeChhat, of Lowell, drowned after jumping in the river to save the boy and his 7-year-old sister. Boua DeChhat and her daughter were pulled from the water by a boater and taken to Anna Jacques Hospital, where the mother was pronounced dead. Her daughter was treated and released.
The accident happened Thursday evening off Deer Island in Amesbury. Police said DeChhat, her husband and their two children were fishing and swimming on the island when Mas fell in the water while reaching for a stick.
He was pulled away by the current, and his sister fell in while trying to grab him. DeChhat, who police say was not a swimmer, went in the water to save her children.
DeChhat’s husband had gone back to the car to get some gear when his family went in the water. He jumped in when he saw his wife and daughter in trouble, but began to struggle himself.
Police said he made it back toward shore and grabbed a rock. He was taken to Seabrook Hospital and treated for exposure and hypothermia.
The current carried DeChhat and her daughter west, under the Whittier Bridge and out into the river, where they were found by the boater. Police said Mas was not seen in the water when the pair were pulled aboard the boat.
Saturday was the third day in the search for Mas.
The Coast Guard, Boston Fire Department and police and fire departments from Amesbury and Newburyport assisted in the search. Other nearby agencies provided support.
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