Body found in search for girl missing in River Thames

Officers searching the River Thames for a missing girl have found a body.

Police and coastguard authorities were called to the river on Friday afternoon after reports that two children had got into difficulty in the water.

The girl’s body was found at 11.40am on Saturday after a search was resumed that morning by Kent Police’s Marine Unit and HM Coastguard.

A boy was pulled from the water alive on Friday, before he was taken to a local hospital where he remains in a stable condition.

Formal identification of the body has been made by the girl’s family, Kent Police confirmed. The death is not being treated as suspicious and a report is being prepared for a coroner.

A major search operation by police, coastguard services, the RNLI and South East Coast Ambulance Service followed on Friday after the Port of London Authority called them to the scene at 1.46pm.

On Friday evening, the search for the missing girl was suspended, the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) said.

Kent Police said on Saturday: “Kent Police’s Marine Unit and HM Coastguard continued the search of the water and river bank this morning.

“At around 11.40am, a body was recovered from the river near Gravesend with the assistance of the RNLI.

“Formal identification by the missing girl’s next of kin has taken place. The death is not being treated as suspicious at this stage and a report will be prepared for the coroner.”