Girl’s body found in Sydney bay after father pulled from water

A winter Saturday on the Parramatta River turned into a grim search scene after a man was found dead in the water off Bayview Park at Concord and a young girl who had been with him in a small boat was later found dead by police divers.

NSW Police said emergency services were called to Bayview Park on Burwood Road shortly before 11.45am on Saturday, June 13, after reports a man’s body had been found in the water. Officers from Burwood Police Area Command were told the man had been seen in a small boat with a child shortly before the discovery.

A command post went up on the foreshore. Marine police, divers and the police aviation command were brought in. By about 5.30pm, divers had recovered the body of the child from the river.

Police said the man had not been formally identified, but information suggested he was in his 40s. The girl was believed to be aged six or seven. Officers said they were supporting the child’s mother while inquiries continued.

ABC News reported the pair were from the Westmead area and that Superintendent Christine McDonald described the deaths as “an absolute tragedy” for the family and the community. She said police were examining the hired boat and working through whether the incident was accidental, intentional or linked to domestic violence.

The blunt facts are still thin. There has been no formal identification, no public finding on how the pair died, and police have not laid out a final theory. What is clear is that a routine stretch of inner-west river became the centre of a major search, and by dusk two people were dead.

Police have asked anyone with information to contact Burwood police or Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000. Information can be provided confidentially.

Sources: NSW Police; ABC News.