Boy, 8, mauled to death by crocodile in front of horrified parents after being dragged underwater as he played
A YOUNG boy was mauled to death by a crocodile in front of his horrified parents after being dragged underwater as he played.
Julio Otero Fernández, eight, was splashing around in the Matina River in Limón, Costa Rica, when the predator attacked him.
The youngster - who had been playing in knee-deep water - was then pulled deeper into the river as his family watched on in horror.
Julio's body has still not yet been found and could be hidden anywhere in the area.
His distraught parents Don Julio Otero and Margini Fernández Flores said they're now moving away to to stop their other four children – aged between three and 16 - from being savaged by the protected animal.
They have also made a desperate plea to authorities to find the crocodile and kill it.
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The third grader's dad said: "The hardest thing for my wife was seeing the crocodile float with my son's body."
Speaking to local media his devastated mum added: "It is impossible to continue living in Matina because in every corner of the house we find something that reminds us of Julito, that causes us a lot of pain.
"We can't be here, because we spend every time remembering how nice it was to have him here with us.
"It is very difficult for us, so we are going to have to get out of here."
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She added: "I am not going to stay here, because just as they protect those animals, they are capable of leaving the river to attack more people and the truth is that it is scary that something like this will happen again.
"My other children act strong, but one realises that they are sad.
"Whenever we remember what happened, it is impossible not to shed tears."
Authorities are still hunting for little Julio's body but say they have had difficulty in recent days due to heavy rain.
Tatiana Díaz, regional director of the Limón Red Cross said: “One hypothesis is that the animal took the child to the burrow or cave and there are burrows and caves but we don't know which one of them it is, we have tried to cover and visualize some, we have implemented a hook with a strip to see if it pulls something, but to no avail.
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"Since we don't know which cave it is, or which crocodile because there are several, it's very difficult to focus on a single point.
"We know that there are crocodiles and burrows, but we don't have a notion or a pattern to work on."
