The case you are referring to is that of Erick Rian Duarte Santos, who disappeared in São José dos Pinhais on February 21, 2025. The fact that his body has not been found, despite indications at the Canal Extravasor (where a witness reported the fall and a compatible shoe mark was found on the bridge structure), causes deep anguish for his family and the community.
Technically answering your question: yes, there is a real and well-founded probability that a body may not be found in a river, even a small one with slow-moving water in an urban area.
Here are the main forensic and hydrological factors that explain this phenomenon:
1. The Buoyancy Cycle (Window of Opportunity)
When a person drowns, the body usually sinks initially due to the loss of air in the lungs. It only resurfaces when the gases from internal decomposition make it buoyant enough to float.
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The "Window": If the body floats and is not spotted or recovered within a few days, the tissues begin to break down, gases escape, and the body sinks a second time.
- The Final Destination: Once it sinks a second time, it tends to settle at the bottom, where it can be covered by sediment, making location almost impossible without high-scan sonar equipment or dredging.
If the body gets snagged on debris at the bottom, or any natural traps, it's possible this window may not even exist.
2. Urban Obstacles and Debris
Rivers in metropolitan areas often have a high amount of "structural trash" (tires, shopping carts, branches, furniture, and construction debris).
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Entrapment: A body can become trapped under a heavy structure or within a tangle of debris that the slow current pushes to the bottom.
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Vegetation: Aquatic plants and riparian vegetation (macrophytes) can form "mats" that hide the body from both aerial view (drones) and diving teams.
3. Sedimentation and Silting
Slow-moving rivers have low energy to carry sediment. This means sand and silt deposit quickly.
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Within a few months, a body deposited in a backwater area (where the water almost stops) can be covered by a layer of sediment, integrating into the riverbed.
4. Siphons and Engineering Structures
The Canal Extravasor, specifically, is an engineering work for flood control. It has pipes, side drains, and sometimes sections with grates or siphons. If the body is sucked into one of these submerged drainage pipes, it can become confined in a location where divers cannot access due to safety or lack of visibility.
Why do searches fail?
Visibility in metropolitan rivers is often close to zero due to pollution and the disturbance of silt. Firefighters' work in these conditions is done almost entirely by touch, making a search over kilometers extremely difficult. In Erick's case, the extent of the canal and the fact that it flows into other systems (like the Iguaçu River) exponentially increase the search area.
Unfortunately, the absence of the body does not rule out a fatal outcome in the river, and it also fuels the family's hope for other hypotheses, as absolute certainty in aquatic forensics is very difficult to obtain without physical location.
In any case, when dealing with a disappearance, no hypothesis can be ruled out until it is completely exhausted. DENUNCIAS PELOS NÚMEROS 181 ou 197
Editor's Note: Research conducted with the aid of Deep Research is subject to referential ambiguity, potentially confusing facts and people. Although Sílvio de Souza Lôbo Júnior has reviewed the material to resolve such inconsistencies, it is advised that inaccuracies may persist. We count on your help for clarifications and suggestions. Speak to the Editor.
