A body believed to be that of a 15-year-old boy has been found following a search of the Peel River in Tamworth after the teenager failed to resurface while swimming on Monday evening.
Emergency services were called to the river’s swiming hole near Scott Road and Peel Street, just after 7.40pm on 6 October, following reports that the boy had entered the water and did not return to the surface.
Officers from Oxley Police District, with assistance from Marine Area Command, NSW Ambulance and the State Emergency Service, began a multi-agency search to locate the boy.
Family members watched on from the gravel beach as divers joined the search on Tuesday morning.
The search concluded at around 8.30am on Tuesday 7 October, when a body was located in the river. While formal identification is yet to take place, police believe it to be that of the missing teenager.
It is not yet known what led to the boy’s apparent drowning. A crime scene was established and police commenced an investigation into the incident. A report will be prepared for the Coroner.
In other police news, two women have been charged after a police pursuit in Tamworth on Monday night.
Police stopped a grey sedan during random breath testing on Bridge Street about 10pm, but the driver fled, leading officers on a pursuit through Werris Creek Road and Currabubula before stopping. A seven-year-old child was allegedly found unrestrained in the back seat.
The 22-year-old driver was charged with driving while disqualified, police pursuit, and passenger restraint offences. She was granted conditional bail.
Her 22-year-old passenger was charged with possessing a prohibited drug and breaching bail and was refused bail to appear in court today.
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