The family of an 11-year-old girl who went missing in the Thames last month has learned that a body has been discovered in the river.
Kaliyah Coa, who had been playing with another young girl and boy during a school inset day, fell into the water on March 31 before a life ring could be thrown to her, according to nearby residents.
She entered the Thames near Barge House Causeway, near London City Airport in east London, and was not found despite an extensive search by emergency services.
The Metropolitan Police Department has now confirmed that her family was informed that a body was discovered in the river on Sunday morning.
Officers were alerted to a body in the River Thames at Maritime Quay in east London at 9.03 a.m. on Sunday.
A police spokesperson stated, “The body has yet to be formally identified.” However, the family of Kaliyah Coa has been informed of this development, and they are being supported by specialist officers.
According to the force, Kaliyah’s family has asked that their privacy be respected at this time.
Emergency services launched a “large-scale response” when she went missing, but the search was later scaled back, with the London Ambulance Service, London Fire Brigade, and the RNLI stating that crews had been stood down.
Kerry Benadjaoud said a male neighbour informed her that he had called the police. She said, “But he said he could see her [the girl’s] hands going down. So, when I got down there with the ring, I couldn’t find her.
The lifelong resident said she discovered shoes, a sock, a coat, and a phone near the river and turned them in to the police.
“Apparently she was paddling, so her socks and shoes were off, her coat, then she must have slipped and gone down,” she told me.
