Brazilian journalist finds missing girl’s body while reporting live

Brazil: In a shocking development, a Brazilian journalist stumbled onto the body of a missing 13-year-old girl while doing live reporting on her disappearance.

A distressing video that drew public attention showcased the Brazilian journalist Lenildo Frazão accidentally stepping on the body of the teenager while reporting from the Mearim River. The video showed that he was in the middle of the water before he stumbled on the dead body of the 13-year-old girl. 

The 13-year-old girl identified as Raíssa was discovered as Frazão stepped into the water to highlight the depth and current of the water. She had reportedly gone missing after going swimming with her friends.

While reporting, Frazão abruptly stopped as he felt as though he had stepped on something soft and quickly spit out the water he had accidentally consumed and alerted his team that he stepped on something soft and it could be her. 

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="100%"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">🇧🇷 Brazilian reporter is reporting on the disappearance of a 13-year-old girl when he allegedly steps on a body.<br><br>Lenildo Frazao was reporting from the Mearim River, <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Brazil?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Brazil</a>. The victim, &#39;Raissa,&#39; was later found in the exact same spot where Frazão jumped, according to some news… <a href="https://t.co/Q6liMN9WoX">pic.twitter.com/Q6liMN9WoX</a></p>&mdash; Ian Collins (@Ian_Collins_03) <a href="https://twitter.com/Ian_Collins_03/status/1948058907772911976?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 23, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

He proceeded to get out of the water and contact the police who upon their arrival discovered Raíssa’s body still at the exact location where Frazão had felt something. 

After conducting a post mortem the authorities confirmed that she did die due to accidental drowning. Raíssa was buried on June 30 following a community vigil while her school declared three days of mourning for her death. 

The video of the Brazilian journalist stumbling onto the body while reporting of the disappearance has since gone viral in Brazil and drawn worldwide attention with some in shock of the events that transpired and calling it a coincidence. 

While some accuse the journalist of sensationalizing by staging the whole incident for dramatic effect and getting more views. An accusation that the journalist has strongly denied. 

The incident ignited public attention and conversations on media ethics and journalistic responsibility in Brazil especially when covering sensitive issues that involve grieving families or minors. While some argue that it is the role of the press to shed light on pressing issues.