After passerby hears 6-year-old yelling for mom, police find woman, another child dead in N.J. river – PennLive

A woman and an 11-year-old boy were found dead Tuesday evening in the river in a Boonton, N.J., park, authorities said.

At 5:39 p.m., a passerby called 911 and told police a 6-year-old child was shouting for his mother in the upper pond section of Grace Lord Park, Acting Prosecutor Robert Carroll said at a joint press conference with Morris County Sheriff James Gannon and Boonton Police Chief Stephen Jones at the park Tuesday.

When police arrived, they found the child standing by the bank of the Rockaway River and saw footprints leading down to the water, Carroll said. Responding officers also saw two bodies in the river, at the top of the waterfall that the river flows into, he said.

The two bodies were recovered, a 35-year-old woman, and a child, identified as 11-year-old boy, by Boonton’s Swift Water Rescue Team, police said. The two were pronounced dead at 6:37 and 6:38 p.m., respectively, authorities said.

The prosecutor’s office, sheriff’s office, and Boonton police are investigating the incident. Authorities declined to confirm the relationships between the woman and children, and did not identify anyone involved, citing notification of next of kin. The 6-year-old child was in police custody immediately following the incident, authorities said.

Carroll said it was, “obviously a very sad day when you have children involved in something like this.”

The park is located in Uptown Boonton near Essex Ave and West Main Street, and investigators had police tape cordoning off an area of the park near a lighted a gazebo.

No other details were released Tuesday night and Mayor Richard J. Corcoran and Boonton Public Safety Director Daniel DeGroot referred all questions about the incident to the prosecutor’s office.

NJ Advance Media photographer Aristide Economopoulos contributed to this report.

Chris Sheldon may be reached at csheldon@njadvancemedia.com.