A family in Lokoja, Kogi State, is grappling with heartbreak after their two-year-old son, Godwin Kumfa, reportedly drowned in the Meme River on Monday morning.

According to local sources, the tragic incident occurred around 7:30 a.m. in the Phase 11 area of the state capital. Godwin’s father, Mr. Mamtip Kumfa, who works as a security guard at a private school, rushed home after receiving distressing calls from neighbors that his little boy was missing.

When he arrived, he met his wife, Mrs. Lovina Kumfa, desperately searching for Godwin. In tears, she explained that she had taken the boy along to the river bank while she was collecting sand. She left him sitting by the water’s edge for just a brief moment — but when she returned, her son was nowhere to be found.

“Later, when my husband and I started looking everywhere, we found one of his shoes far away, near Arigbede, which is about 15 kilometers downstream from our house,” Lovina recounted, sobbing.

Still holding onto hope, she cried out, “I left him just for a while. When I came back, he was gone. Please God, help me find my child.”

A family friend who joined the search confirmed that despite combing through the river, they found no sign of the boy — only his tiny shoe floating alone.

As of the time of this report, the Kogi State Police Command had yet to officially confirm the incident. Meanwhile, the local community remains in shock over the heartbreaking loss, praying that the family might still find closure.