After vanishing in Brazil, family survives on piece of driftwood in river

Family of four rescued in Amazon river delta

MIAMI – After an adventurous U.S. family of four vanished in Brazil's Amazon river delta Sunday, a group of villagers found them floating on a piece of driftwood Wednesday. 

According to an O Globo report a 39-year-old artist, a 36-year-old fashion designer, and their two daughters, were traveling in a ferry when pirates attacked. 

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The Californian family boarded the ferry in Belém, a port city that serves as the gateway to Brazil's lower Amazon region, and they were on their way to Macapá, a city in the northern channel of the Amazon River.

After a man spotted them on a piece of driftwood about 5:30 p.m., a group of residents from the remote village of Curumu rescued them and notified local police officers. Authorities told The Wall Street Journal they were taking them to the nearby town of Breves for medical examinations. 

ABC News Tara Fowler, Aicha El Hammar and Shariar Rahmanzadeh contributed to this report. 


About the Author:

The Emmy Award-winning journalist joined the Local 10 News team in 2013. She wrote for the Miami Herald for more than 9 years and won a Green Eyeshade Award.