Body of missing Lowell 4-year-old found in Merrimack River

TEWKSBURY, MASS. (WHDH) - The body of a missing 4-year-old Lowell boy was found in the Merrimack River Friday, according to the Middlesex County District Attorney’s office.

Azriel Lopez, who had been missing for about two weeks, was found at around 9 a.m. near the Trull Brook Golf Course in Tewksbury, the office said in a statement.

An off-duty Massachusetts State Police lieutenant found Lopez’s body while boating on the river, the DA said. Local and state police helped remove him from the river as his family watched from the shore.

“It’s not easy but we’re grateful that, finally, we can have the closure that we desired and need, and just to give my nephew a proper burial,” said Linda Lopez, the young boy’s aunt.

Lopez was playing at a park when he fell into the water on April 19, according to his family. No foul play is suspected, the DA’s office said.

At around 5:44 p.m. that Saturday, emergency crews responded to a 911 call about a child in the water by the Western Canal near 300 Arcand Drive and the Merrimack River, according to the Lowell Police Department.

Witnesses said he was swept away by the fast-moving current.

“He was just an angel — the angel little boy. And that’s the only thing that we all want to keep, the good memory,” said Celia Heredia, a friend of Lopez’s family.

Dive teams and local search teams swept the area for the past couple of weeks.

“I was just up and down the river, you know, and the woods, just checking out everything,” said Juan Lara, a volunteer search crew member.

Linda Lopez expressed her gratitude to those who joined the search.

“Our family is very grateful for the search they’ve been doing day, night,” she said. “This is the hardest part that we’re going to have to process now. The search was horrible, because we couldn’t find him, but definitely now that he’s found, we can at least lay him to rest.”

An autopsy will be performed to determined the young boy’s cause of death.

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