Father and young daughter found dead in Parramatta River as police comb Concord foreshore
By The Times of Australia
A quiet stretch of Sydney waterfront has become the centre of a hard police investigation after a man and his young daughter were found dead in the Parramatta River.
NSW Police say emergency services were called to Bayview Park at Concord just before 11.45am on Saturday, after a passer-by spotted a man’s body in the water near a small drifting boat. Officers from Burwood Police Area Command reached the scene by boat and tried to revive him. He died at the scene.
What made the callout worse came moments later. Police were told the man had been seen earlier in the small boat with a child. The girl was no longer on board.
A command post went up on the foreshore. Marine police, divers and aviation crews were pulled into the search around Hen and Chicken Bay. About 5.30pm, police divers recovered the body of a girl from the river.
The pair had not been formally identified by Sunday evening. Police said early information indicated the man was in his 40s and the girl was aged about six or seven. Officers are supporting the child’s mother while the investigation continues.
Superintendent Christine McDonald, the commander of Burwood Police Area Command, called it an absolute tragedy and said police would leave no stone unturned. Investigators are now working through whether the deaths were accidental, intentional, or linked to domestic violence.
That uncertainty matters. The public facts are still narrow: a hired boat on the river, a father and child seen together, the man’s body found before midday, and the child’s body recovered hours later. The vessel is being forensically examined, and police are trying to rebuild the morning from witness accounts and any footage from the foreshore or nearby homes.
Bayview Park is usually a family place: grass, water, boats, a playground, the ordinary weekend traffic of Sydney’s inner west. By Saturday afternoon it was a crime scene, with police tape along the water and a search operation turning into a death investigation.
Police are urging anyone who was near Bayview Park, Hen and Chicken Bay or the Parramatta River around Concord on Saturday morning to contact Burwood Police or Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000. Waterfront residents have also been asked to check CCTV.
If this story raises distress, Lifeline is available on 13 11 14. In an emergency, call Triple Zero.
Sources: NSW Police statements issued June 13, ABC News reporting, and AAP reporting carried by Guardian Australia.
