In a twist to a missing persons case in Brazil, a TV reporter unknowingly stepped on the body of a 13-year-old schoolgirl while filming a segment on her disappearance. The incident took place at the Mearim River in Bacabal, northeastern Brazil, where the girl, Raissa, had last been seen swimming with friends.
Reporter Lenildo Frazao had entered the river to illustrate the hazardous conditions when he suddenly jumped back in alarm. As captured in the broadcast footage, Frazao told his crew he had felt something beneath the surface as the water reached his chest. Visibly shaken, he quickly retreated to shallower water.
A Brazilian TV reporter may have stumbled onto the body of a missing 13-year-old girl during a live segment from the very river she vanished in
Lenildo Frazão was waist-deep in the Mearim River, demonstrating the water’s depth on camera in Bacabal, Maranhão — the last place the… pic.twitter.com/0i3y13fsZ9
— Re:Flex (@re_flex_world) July 21, 2025
“I think there’s something down here at the bottom of the water,” he told his team, before stepping away and adding, “No, I’m not going, I’m scared. It looked like an arm — could it be her? But it might be a fish, too. I don’t know.”
Body Recovered After Live Report Raises Alarm
Following Frazao’s segment, firefighters and divers resumed their search on June 30 and recovered Raissa’s body from the same spot where the reporter had been filming. While it remains unclear whether Frazao had indeed come into contact with her remains, the coincidence added a grim layer to the broadcast.
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Raissa had drowned while swimming with friends in the river, and a post-mortem examination confirmed accidental drowning with no signs of physical trauma. Her body was laid to rest on the evening of June 30.
In the wake of her death, the school declared a three-day mourning period, and the local community organised a vigil. Friends and family gathered to light candles and offer prayers, honouring the teenager’s memory.
During his coverage, Lenildo Frazao had warned viewers about the river’s dangerous conditions, citing strong currents and uneven depths due to holes in the riverbed.
