featured-image

A GRIEVING community in England, devastated by the disappearance of a two-year-old Zimbabwean boy who fell into a river, says the discovery of his body last week will, at least, give his shattered family a chance to have closure in a nightmare which has unfolded for FOUR months. Xielo Maruziva’s body was found last week after a FOUR-MONTH search and his tragedy has profoundly touched the lives of his community in Leicester. Xielo fell into the River Soar in the Aylestone Meadows nature reserve, Leicester, during a walk with his family, in the evening of Sunday, February 18.

His father dived into the river, in a bid to rescue Xielo, and had to be taken to hospital as a result. A massive operation was launched days later to try and locate the youngster, with police forces from across the UK sending specialist teams to help. But, the search was scaled back a month later after officers failed to find any trace of the toddler, with Leicestershire Police saying it would continue to look for Xielo, but the ‘additional resources’ from around the UK would no longer be at the scene.



Last week, a body was found in the search and his community has rallied behind the grieving family in the wake of the announcement in messages to the Leicester Mercury. These are some of the messages: Gareth Lanning: “I know nothing can take away the family’s pain of losing their child. I’m glad the child has been found and I hope this brings the family some comfort and they can give him a buria.

Back to Beauty Page