The 22-year-old could not swim and disappeared in the water on August 31 while on a jet-ski outing. Her body was found three days later after an extensive search operation.
A 22-year-old woman who went missing on a jet-ski outing has tragically been found dead after three days of searching.
Jaqueline Barbosa Nascimento, who could not swim, disappeared in the water on Sunday (August 31) afternoon. Her body was recovered on Wednesday, September 3, after a search operation involving boats and divers.
Although her death initially appeared accidental, police have since registered it as “suspicious”. Jaqueline had gone to the Jaguari reservoir in Igarat, near São Paulo, Brazil with other young people she had met at a party just weeks earlier, as reported by NeedToKnow.
Jaqueline could not swim and disappeared in the water on August 31(Image: Jam Press)
Her longtime friend Gabrielle Reis told local media: “All our close friends pleaded with her not to go, since none of us could go along.
“But she spent the whole week nagging us, saying, ‘Come on, come on.’ In the end, she went anyway.”
Two individuals, who were also on the jet-ski with Jaqueline, have given statements to the police, but their accounts reportedly contradict each other.
Investigators intend to review the security camera footage from a nearby property in order to determine exactly what happened on the fateful day.
A post-mortem will also confirm whether Jaqueline’s cause of death was drowning. Jaqueline, who was from São Paulo, had previously been employed at a jewellers and at a perfume shop, and had also worked as a production assistant.
She boasted more than 12,000 followers on social media, and is survived by her parents and a younger sister. Her friend Gabrielle added: “She was always such a gentle, loving girl, always thinking of others. She was a good person and a true friend.”
Recently, there was news of another instance of drowning at a reservoir. Kimberley Johnson, 33, was pulled from the Strinesdale Reservoir, considered to be a UK beauty spot, on August 17. The mum-of-three had been swimming at Strinesdale River with her partner on Sunday afternoon when tragedy struck.
A rescue and search operation was swiftly launched, involving the fire service’s specialist water incident unit team. Tragically, Kimberley’s body was found and recovered hours later at approximately 6.25pm. An inquest heard that Kimberley told her partner “I can’t do it” just moments before she vanished beneath the water.
It was revealed during the hearing that she had been consuming alcohol and smoking cannabis prior to entering the water. Kimberley, a machine operator from Rochdale who resided in Oldham, decided to take a dip while visiting the beauty spot with her partner, Daniel.
Police coroner’s officer Cathy Dickson informed the court that after swimming for a brief period, she suddenly told him: “I can’t do it.” Despite his efforts, he was unable to reach her and pull her to safety.
In another tragic instance, Daniel, 19, from Bolton was last spotted near the Lower Rivington Reservoir in Lancashire at 9pm on August 29. After a two-day search operation, sadly, the missing teen’s body was located. His death is not being treated as suspicious.