THE BODIES of a nine-year-old boy and his father, who have been missing since August 29, have been discovered in the Guadiana River near the docks of Mértola in the Alentejo region.
The father, José António Nogueira, was found on Saturday at the bottom of the Guadiana river around 200 metres from where he disappeared after trying to rescue his son, who was having difficulties swimming.
Teams from the sniffer dog and rescue association, Associação Cinotécnica de Busca e Salvamento, found the body.
The body of Bruno Nogueira, the son, was found near the edge of the river close to the docks of Mértola around 1.15am on Sunday, about a kilometre from where he disappeared.
Both bodies were taken to the Medicina Legal in Beja, where autopsies were carried out before they were returned to the family on Monday.
Fernando Pacheco, a spokesman from the Captaincy of the Port of Vila Real de Santo António and Commander of the operations at the scene, said: “There is a tendency for bodies that are under water for a long time to float to the surface, which is what happened.”
He said that if the boy’s body had not emerged then its detection may have been more complicated because of the physical conditions of the search area, with much reduced visibility below the water and strong currents.
Around 80 people, including 30 divers, maritime police, navy personnel, GNR, Civil Protection personnel, firemen and sniffer dog teams searched in Mértola and the Guadiana River for almost four days before finding the bodies of the two victims.
Polido Valente, President of Mértola Câmara said: “We are going to contact all of the authorities to understand how we can sign post the area, but it is very difficult to prohibit access to the river.”
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