TEWKSBURY — The search for a missing child came to a tragic end on Friday, when an off-duty state trooper from Methuen found the body of Azriel Lopez, 4, in the Tewksbury stretch of the Merrimack River.
Massachusetts State Police Lt. Edward Johnson said he had been searching the river in his personal pontoon boat since April 19, when Lopez, slipped and fell into the water near Arcand Drive in Lowell while fishing with his mother and siblings.
Johnson said he found the boy’s body in the river near the west side of the Trull Brook Golf Course as he searched on Friday morning.
Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan later confirmed the body recovered was Lopez of Lawrence.
The boy’s family members gathered Friday morning at the boat ramp in Methuen. Johnson said he met the child’s mother and father and other relatives there.
“The family thanked me,” said Johnson. “I am glad it’s over for them.”
Daily searches had been under way in the two weeks since the boy was reported missing. No foul play is suspected, Ryan said.
Numerous area police and fire departments, state troopers and volunteers conducted searches in both the river and on foot patrols on the riverbanks using both department and privately-owned boats, with helicopters, drones and binoculars, in hip waders and boots, authorities said.
Ryan, in her statement, noted the searchers included the Lowell Police Drone Unit and MSP Airwing, which used infrared to search and the Massachusetts Environmental Police who used sonar and side-scanning sonar.
Methuen and Lawrence police and fire departments were also among numerous agencies involved.
The river stretches from central New Hampshire to the Atlantic Ocean with Lowell roughly 44 miles upstream from Newburyport.
Follow staff reporter Jill Harmacinski on Twitter @EagleTribJill and on Threads at jillyharma.