On the afternoon of Saturday, November 26, the inhabitants of the Martina River, in Limón, Costa Rica, captured and hunted the alleged crocodile that devoured the eight-year-old Nicaraguan boy with the initials JCOF. At the time of opening the animal, they found hair and bones in the reptile’s stomach, indicating that they could be the minor.
Margine Fernández Flores, mother of the victim, confirmed that residents of 4 Millas, who live on the banks of the stream, handed over to officials of the Costa Rican Judicial Investigation Agency (OIJ) hair and two bones that they found inside the lizard. The crocodile was caught and sacrificed by a still unknown hunter who, after killing the reptile, fled the scene.
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The authorities of the National System of Conservation Areas (Sinac) had prepared to capture the animal and asked the residents to try to move away and avoid “any type of interaction or to capture or harm them to avoid any risk situation.”
The tragedy occurred on Sunday, October 30, when the family decided to visit the Matina River, located in the city of Limón, a place surrounded by jungles, beaches, and abundant wildlife. The authorities of the neighboring country decided to abandon the search on the second day of searching in the area.
The boy was accompanying his parents fishing when the tragic event was recorded. The Red Cross reported that it concluded the search for the minor after activating rescuers in boats to try to find the whereabouts of the child.
The child’s family arrived in the Costa Rican Caribbean four years ago to work on a banana plantation, but they never imagined that they would see one of their offspring die that way. The reptile took his son in its jaws and, before the astonished gaze of the family, dragged the body of the minor who was in the river. One of the witnesses stated that he saw a terrifying scene: “she shook him (the child) and tore off his little head. From there he grabbed him again and terrified him (in the river),” one of his relatives told an international media outlet.
Fernández expressed to the digital media 100% Noticias that “the crocodile was killed, I don’t know who it was, but they killed it and they did find part of my child’s body, they found little hairs and bones. That animal has already died, for me it is a great relief that they killed it, I wish they would all kill them, so that no family goes through pain like this again.
