Two Boys Drown in Separate Christmas Day Incidents in Brazil

Overview

• In Eunápolis, Bahia, Marcelo de Oliveira Lima Ribeiro, 11, who had level 3 autism and was non-verbal, fled home and was found dead in a lagoon he frequented, according to Civil Police.
• Witnesses helped remove Marcelo’s body, which was sent to the regional Technical Police Department, and the case was registered at the Eunápolis precinct as death by drowning.
• In Unaí, Minas Gerais, Mateus Ribeiro Campos, 4, visiting from the Federal District for Christmas, drowned in a 1.3-meter-deep pool at a family property, with death confirmed at the hospital at 10:25 a.m. after failed resuscitation, per medical records.
• Military Police reported the pool gate, usually kept locked, was unlocked that day, and the property owner told officers he found the child in the water after returning from feeding animals.
• Reports document confirmed autism in Marcelo and a possible diagnosis for Mateus as police and forensic teams record both cases as drownings, with no funeral or criminal details released.