August 25, 2026
Thom Carroll/PhillyVoice
The body of a woman who saved a young girl from drowning was found off the coast of Amico Island Park in Burlington County.
The body of a Delran woman who went missing after rescuing a child from drowning was recovered about 20 feet off a beach at Amico Island Park in Burlington County, police said Tuesday.
Priscilla Alvares Pereira Dos Santos, 33, saw a young girl struggling in the Delaware River at around 4 p.m. Monday and entered the water to help, officials said. After Santos was able to push the girl to shore, allowing other bystanders to pull her to land, she submerged underwater and did not resurface.
The Delran Township Police Department conducted a search with over a dozen neighboring emergency and law enforcement agencies through Monday evening and resumed the search Tuesday at around 6:30 a.m. with drones to survey the area.
Her body was recovered at around 8:15 a.m. Tuesday, police said. Amico Island Park was closed to visitors Tuesday while police continued to investigate the incident.
The circumstances involving Santos' death do not appear to be suspicious, officials said.
A GoFundMe page was established to support Santos' family. She is survived by her husband, Alex, and their two young children, according to the page. Tuesday would have been her 34th birthday.
"For everyone who knew Priscila, what happened is heartbreaking — but her instinct to help someone else was completely consistent with the woman she was," the GoFundMe page says. "... Friends remember Priscila as joyful, strong, generous and always willing to help someone with her words, her time or her actions."
