A body has been found in the Goulburn River where police were searching for an eight-year-old boy who disappeared while swimming in a billabong in Victoria's north.
Last night, Police divers searched until dark for eight-year-old Lachlyn Collins, who was swimming in the billabong at Kialla West, near Shepparton, when he became separated from his siblings about 11am (AEDT) on Monday, AAP reported.
The body was found on Tuesday morning.
Police divers had been working their way through the billabong, which is about 25 metres wide at its widest point and around 800 metres long, at Kialla West, near Shepparton.
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Before the discovery, Victoria Police spokesman Marty Beveridge said the billabong was dry before last September's floods and is now taking the overflow from the swollen Goulburn River.
"The flow has increased overnight and the divers are saying they have to hang on to vegetation (on the billabong floor) to keep moving against the current," Mr Beveridge told AAP.
A State Emergency Service (SES) team from Tatura conducted a line search of the banks of the billabong on Tuesday morning while a search and rescue team from Shepparton joined police and volunteers looking for Lachlan.
Mr Beveridge said the search was made more difficult by the state of the billabong, which has abandoned car bodies, broken tree branches and other debris in it.
"There's all sorts of debris and that is causing a massive issue for the divers to deal with," he said.
Search and Rescue, Water Police, Airwing and emergency service workers found no trace of the boy during a six-hour search on Monday and the research resumed early on Tuesday.
The Goulburn River is reported to be swollen, but not a major flood issue in the region.
