A 4-year-old Northland boy is dead after he disappeared while chasing a ball in a popular swimming hole near Moerewa.
Senior Sergeant Cliff Metcalfe, head of police Land Search and Rescue in Northland, said the boy's body was recovered by a diver at the bottom of a swimming hole beneath a waterfallabout 11.30am yesterday.
Mr Metcalfe said it was upsetting to have such a sad end to the search-and-rescue operation, but he was pleased the family had got the boy's body back and had some closure.
He said the tragedy began about 7pm on Saturday as the boy was swimming at a popular spot in a stream off Otiria Rd, Moerewa, about 60km north of Whangarei, with family and friends.
"He was seen to chase a ball into the water and then disappeared," Mr Metcalfe said.
The boy's family and friends are believed to have searched for him for at least an hour. Emergency services were called and police, ambulance and Fire Service staff searched for the missing boy, along with his family members and friends, late into Saturday night, but with no success.
Mr Metcalfe said Search and Rescue called in a commercial diver yesterday morning and the boy's body was found at the bottom of a pool below a waterfall on the stream about 11.30am.
The death had now been handed over to the coroner for investigation.
"It's never nice to have this outcome to a search-and-rescue operation, and it's especially sad on a day like this [Waitangi Day]. The fact it's a 4-year-old boy makes it difficult, but at least the family has some sort of closure," Mr Metcalfe said.
The death was the second drowning in Northland this year after a 55-year-old fisherman from Te Tii, north of Kerikeri, was swept off the rocks near Tapuaetahi, on January 27.
Nine people drowned in Northland in 2010, down from 13 in 2009, but up from the seven in 2008.
The latest death comes after two near-drownings of small children in Northland early last month prompted a call for parents to keep a close eye on their children near water.
Children could quickly disappear if not watched constantly and the two near-misses were reminders to parents and caregivers to always keep an eye on children near water, Water Safety New Zealand general manager Matt Claridge said at the time.
