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Body of missing five-year-old boy allegedly drowned by mother found in the Murray River.

The body of a five-year-old boy who was allegedly drowned by his mother in the Murray River in Moama has been found.

The search for the young boy began on Thursday night after it was alleged the boy’s mum, 27, took him and his nine-year-old brother to the river to drown them.

Fairfax reports police divers recovered the body early on Saturday morning when the search resumed after it was deemed too dark on Friday night to continue searching.

Emergency services spoke to the Riverine Herald, with one saying he was overcome when divers recovered the child’s body.

“He was so little, it was awful, the whole thing has been awful, and everyone here is devastated,” he said. “All of us have been hit so hard.”

The woman’s nine-year-old son remains in a serious condition in Melbourne’s Royal Children’s Hospital after he managed to escape her focus and run from the banks of the river, only to be “savagely mauled” by a dog as he made his escape, The Herald Sun reports.

It is believed the boys were not in the custody of their mother at the time, with the 27-year-old allegedly taking them from the home of their grandparents in Deniliquin on Wednesday. They had been caring for the boys for the past 18 months.

The mother has since been charged with attempted murder, but has not been charged with the murder at this stage.