PASSAIC, N.J. (WPVI) — The pursuit to find a 10-year-old girl missing in the waters of the Passaic River rekindled early Friday morning. This development follows an incident earlier in the week where she, along with two other children, entered the river and only the latter managed to escape safely.

The video featured is from a previous report.

Search teams, equipped with boats, are expected to renew their efforts on the river starting at 6 a.m. Friday. The search efforts on Thursday ended without success.

For several days, emergency crews have meticulously combed the river relying on a range of resources including helicopters, divers, and sonar technology. Search operations primarily concentrate on the Rutherford stretch of the river, with teams adjusting their positioning to align with the river’s current.

Passaic Mayor Hector Lora announced the search effort has transitioned into a recovery mission, emphasizing the gravity of the situation at hand.

The girl was with a 10-year-old boy whose body was recovered Wednesday night. Officials said the boy helped save his 11-year-old sister, who managed to get out of the water on her own and is recovering with family.

Investigators believe the three children were playing near a boat ramp along the riverbank when they entered the water.

A man nearby jumped into the river in an attempt to rescue them, but officials said the current was too strong and the water was unusually high following heavy rainfall earlier in the week, preventing him from reaching the children.

Family members continue to hold onto hope that the missing girl will be found.

“I actually just saw her two weeks ago at a family gathering,” the girl’s aunt, Chelsea, said. “She’s a beautiful little girl. Very energetic. Very creative. And she’s just a great girl.”

“We’re praying that they find her,” she added.

Authorities say search efforts will continue Friday as crews adjust their operations based on changing river conditions.

Authorities have pinpointed a ‘person of interest’ in the unsettling murder of a man from the Midwest, who was shot while camping in Puerto Rico. The incident unfolded just hours after the victim reported hearing an unusual ‘howling’ noise near his campsite.

The victim, 35-year-old Tyler Wilkin of Ohio, was found with a fatal gunshot wound to the head at Playa La Selva, near Luquillo on Puerto Rico’s northern coast, on July 10.

In his last communication, Wilkin messaged a friend about hearing a man ‘howling’ outside his tent for consecutive nights. This detail, shared by his girlfriend Iva Mo, sheds light on the eerie events leading to his death, as reported by First Alert 6.

Nearly three weeks after the tragic event, the Puerto Rico Police Department (PRPD) has made significant strides by identifying someone crucial to the investigation.

“We do have a person of interest,” Police Superintendent Joseph Gonzalez informed El Nuevo Dia on Thursday.

‘We know there aren’t many people in the area. It’s a bit complicated in terms of investigative leads. We can say that there are some leads.’

Investigators have also said they are working with the FBI to find the suspect who shot Wilkin in what they described as an ‘execution-style’ killing. 

‘At this time, the San Juan Field Office (SJFO) is providing technical assistance to PRPD, but this case remains an ongoing local investigative matter,’ an FBI spokesperson said in a statement to the Daily Mail.

‘We will defer to PRPD for any statements or comments but encourage the local public to call in tips and information.’

Wilkin first told his friend about hearing creepy noises near his tent in the early hours of July 9, according to his girlfriend.  

Mo said he sent a text message saying he could hear this eerie noise along with what sounded like fireworks.

The following night he messaged the same friend just before 2am, saying, ‘The howler is back,’ before adding, ‘Oh, this guy is getting rowdy lol,’ Mo said. Wilkin was found dead hours later, about five minutes from the campsite.

Wilkin moved to Puerto Rico in January 2024, where Mo said he quickly became ‘not just the glue of the community, but also the center of it.’

He was an avid outdoorsman who loved to fish, swim, hike and camp.

Mo said that in the days before his death Wilkin had organized a group trip to a camping location popular with families where he had stayed before and always felt safe.

She dropped him off at the spot in Playa la Selva on July 8 so he could reserve the site ahead of the weekend.

Mo said Wilkin was kitted out with all of his gear, including a pocket knife and a machete.

They said goodbye and parted ways. This would be the last time she saw him. 

The family has launched a GoFundMe page to raise money for a private investigator.

‘We lost Tyler far too soon, and the grief left behind is impossible to put into words,’ the page reads.

‘As his family and friends continue to navigate this heartbreaking loss, we are determined to do everything we can to seek the truth and ensure that Tyler receives the justice he deserves.’

The Daily Mail contacted the Puerto Rico Police for comment. 

As tensions soar, Poland—the closest NATO ally to the ongoing Ukraine-Russia conflict—reacted swiftly on Thursday morning. In response to Russia launching a barrage of over 70 missiles and around 280 drones across Ukraine, Poland scrambled fighter jets and heightened its air defense alert. The assault tragically claimed the lives of at least eight individuals, injuring numerous others from Kyiv to Lviv in the west.

Returning from a diplomatic engagement in the United States and attending the funeral of the late Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., President Zelenskyy addressed the considerable vulnerabilities exposed by Russia’s missile strike. He emphasized a critical gap in Ukraine’s Western-supplied interceptors, especially concerning ballistic missiles.

Zelenskyy highlighted the urgency for additional aid by stating, “The protection of people’s lives depends directly on their willingness” to supply Ukraine with the necessary air-defense missiles, directing a plea to Ukraine’s allies.

In a significant financial gesture, the European Union promptly responded by allocating $4 billion to Ukraine on Thursday morning. This funding aims to bolster Ukraine’s procurement of drones, missiles, air defense systems, and fighter jets, as confirmed by the European Commission.

The disbursement is part of a more than $100 billion loan approved by the EU earlier this year and follows the roughly $3.5 billion installment on June 25 and $4.5 billion on June 30.

Polish forces detected an unidentified object moving west through the country’s airspace shortly before 4 a.m. An F-16 was dispatched to intercept it, but the object disappeared from radar minutes later. Authorities subsequently found a crater about 33 feet wide and scattered debris in farmland near Tarnawa-Kolonia, about 1.2 miles from the closest buildings.

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said initial evidence indicated the object was a Russian Kh-101 missile, although investigators were still working to confirm its type and origin.

“All the indications are that it was a Russian Kh-101,” Tusk said, adding that Polish forces were prepared to shoot it down if it had continued flying toward a populated area.

He added the U.S. is interested in joining the investigation, which has initially determined the missile was not intended for Poland territory. The fate of the Ukraine-Russian war might be decided within the next 100 days, Tusk told reporters.

The threat to a NATO ally is a new frontier in the long-running war and comes after Zelenskyy pressed senators to advance Graham’s sweeping sanctions package. Also, Trump and Zelenskyy discussed U.S. licenses allowing Ukraine to produce Patriot interceptors, along with other defense cooperation and efforts to revive stalled diplomacy with Moscow.

Six people, including two girls ages 5 and 12, were killed when a Russian Iskander-M ballistic missile struck a private home housing a large family near Kryvyi Rih, according to local officials. Seven others were reported killed in Kyiv and elsewhere in the Dnipropetrovsk and Poltava regions as the casualty count rose during rescue operations.

“A dark night,” Oleksandr Vilkul, the head of Kryvyi Rih’s defense council, wrote on Telegram. Eight people were wounded in the strike on the home.

The person killed in Kyiv was a 31-year-old man, while two others were wounded, according to Ukrainian police. Russian strikes damaged residential buildings, vehicles, storage facilities, a market and a garage complex in the capital, where air raid warnings lasted more than five hours and thousands of residents sheltered in subway stations.

In Lviv, about 40 miles from the Polish border, emergency crews searched damaged apartment buildings for people trapped beneath concrete and debris. Thirty people, including children, were reported injured. More than 20 residential buildings, a school and two kindergartens were damaged, officials said.

“I was terrified watching the rescuers go beneath those concrete slabs,” one Lviv resident told Reuters as crews pulled a boy from a damaged building.

Ukraine’s air force said its defenses intercepted 55 missiles and 265 drones. But only one of nine ballistic missiles was shot down, while 11 missiles and 17 drones struck targets at 20 locations.

The U.S.-made Patriot is the only system currently in Ukraine’s arsenal capable of reliably intercepting Russian ballistic missiles, which travel at several times the speed of sound. Zelenskyy has repeatedly warned that Patriot interceptors are arriving too slowly and in insufficient numbers.

During his Tuesday meeting with Trump, Zelenskyy said the leaders discussed licenses for Patriot interceptor production in Ukraine. He also met with Lockheed Martin executives and told senators that domestic production would be a long-term solution but would not address Ukraine’s immediate shortage of missiles. European countries have offered to pay for additional U.S.-made interceptors.

Zelenskyy’s Washington visit coincided with Senate consideration of the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026, named for the longtime defense hawk and outspoken Ukraine supporter who died unexpectedly earlier this month.

The Senate voted 86-12 Tuesday to clear an initial procedural hurdle and voted 84-12 Wednesday to formally proceed with the legislation. Additional votes were still required before final passage.

The package would impose sanctions on Russian officials, oligarchs, financial institutions, energy projects and vessels accused of helping Moscow evade existing restrictions. It would also authorize tariffs of up to 100% on goods from the five largest purchasers of Russian oil and natural gas and the leading countries facilitating sanctions evasion.

Graham negotiated the revised package with the White House shortly before his death. The legislation also includes an extension of sanctions targeting Iran’s energy and weapons sectors, a provision sought by the Trump administration.

Zelenskyy met with a bipartisan group of senators before the procedural votes and called the legislation an important signal to Russia, Europe and the Ukrainian people. He watched the Senate vote from the chamber’s gallery after attending Graham’s funeral at Washington National Cathedral.

In a concerning update to a recent food safety issue, the recall of frozen berries has been broadened following the hospitalization of four individuals due to severe bacterial infections.

Earlier in the month, Frutas y Hortalizas del Sur SA, a company headquartered in Chile, initiated a recall of its GreenWise Organic frozen blueberries. This decision came after testing indicated a potential E. coli contamination, a bacterium known for causing severe gastrointestinal distress, including bloody diarrhea.

The affected product, packaged in 10oz beige bags, was distributed across Publix stores in eight states: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia.

In response to these concerns, Publix has taken proactive measures by recalling all lots of GreenWise Organic Whole Blueberries and Whole Mixed Berries sold in the aforementioned states. This expanded recall comes as a preventive measure against further E. coli exposure.

According to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), by the end of June 2026, Publix had already enacted an internal stop sale policy for the berries, effectively removing them from retail shelves entirely.

Consumers who have the affected berries at home have been urged not to consume them and throw them out immediately or return them to stores for a full refund. 

According to the FDA, 12 people have been sickened and four hospitalized. No deaths have been reported. 

While most people recover from E. coli on their own within a week, children, older adults and people with compromised immune systems can be more prone to a life-threatening kidney complication called hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), which can lead to kidney failure.

Infected individuals live in Florida and Georgia, and illness onset ranged from May 11 to June 5. 

The FDA states seven of the nine individuals who were interviewed reported eating the frozen blueberries. Of those, five specified GreenWise Organic Whole Blueberries from Publix. 

No other details have been released about those sickened.  

GreenWise Organic Whole Blueberries were sold in 10oz and 48oz bags with UPCs 41415-06453 and 41415-12053, respectively. GreenWise Organic Whole Mixed Berries were also sold in 10oz and 48oz bags with the UPCs 41415-06753 and 41415-12153.

E. coli typically comes from undercooked meat, unpasteurized dairy and raw produce like apples, cucumbers and sprouts. 

Roughly 75,000 to 90,000 Americans are exposed to E. coli each year and about 100 die annually. However, cases are vastly undercounted because most people recover without complication and do not get tested for the bacteria.

The blueberries in the initial recall were presumptively positive for E. coli O145:H28, a highly virulent strain of the bacteria that is more likely to cause bloody diarrhea and more severe symptoms.

It’s unclear how the fruits became contaminated, but this can happen if they are treated with water that contains animal feces. 

E. coli bacteria stop growing at temperatures below 45.5F (7.5C), but can survive being frozen and are able to withstand temperatures below -112F (-80C).

Once back in a warm environment, the bacteria are re-activated and start to grow – potentially causing an infection.

E. coli typically sickens people between two and eight days after exposure.

Most patients develop bloody diarrhea and vomiting, as well as stomach cramps, but recover within a week. In more severe cases, some develop HUS, a type of kidney failure most common in children under five, the elderly and people with compromised immune systems. 

Symptoms include easy bruising, decreased urine and a pale appearance. A kidney transplant may be necessary in severe or life-threatening instances. 

‘FDA and state partners are actively working to determine the source of contamination,’ the FDA said.