DELRAN, NEW JERSEY — A community is mourning the heartbreaking loss of 33-year-old Priscila Alvares Pereira Dos Santos, a Delran woman whose final moments were spent trying to save the life of a child in the Delaware River.

Dos Santos went missing Monday afternoon at Amico Island Park in Burlington County after entering the water to help rescue a 9-year-old girl who was struggling in the river. According to officials, Dos Santos was able to push the child toward safety, where other people on shore pulled the girl from the water. Tragically, Dos Santos was unable to make it back to shore and disappeared beneath the surface.

Her body was recovered Tuesday morning at approximately 8:15 a.m., about 20 feet from a beach at the park. The recovery brought an end to an extensive search that had continued following her disappearance.

For Dos Santos’ family, the tragedy is made even more painful by the timing. Tuesday, the day her body was recovered, would have been her 34th birthday.

Her husband remembered her as a deeply faithful woman and a hero who made the ultimate sacrifice for a child. He told Action News that his wife was “an evangelical and a heroine who gave her own life to save a child.”

Those words capture the extraordinary courage displayed by Dos Santos during the incident. Faced with a child in danger, she acted to help. She managed to move the girl toward the shoreline, giving others the opportunity to pull the child to safety. In doing so, however, Dos Santos herself was swept under the water and never resurfaced.

Her husband also said the young girl Dos Santos helped save is a family member, making the tragedy an especially painful one for everyone involved.

Emergency crews spent hours searching the area Monday, working along the rocky shoreline of the wooded park as they attempted to locate the missing woman. Amico Island Park is known for its hiking trails, natural surroundings and picnic areas, rather than as a swimming destination.

Officials have noted that the area can have strong undercurrents, particularly near the point where the Delaware River meets the Rancocas Creek. The dangerous conditions can make entering the water extremely difficult, even for someone attempting to help another person.

The loss of Dos Santos has left loved ones facing an unimaginable grief. She was a wife, a family member and a woman whose final act was one of selflessness. Her decision to help a child in danger came at an enormous personal cost, but because of her actions, a young life was brought safely back to shore.

In the days and weeks ahead, her family will undoubtedly remember the many moments that made her life meaningful — her faith, her love for her family, the memories she created and the people she touched throughout her life.

Her death is a devastating reminder that acts of courage can sometimes come with unimaginable consequences. Yet the compassion shown by Dos Santos in those final moments will remain part of the story of who she was.

She did not turn away when someone needed help. She stepped forward.

As her loved ones mourn, they can hold onto the knowledge that Priscila Alvares Pereira Dos Santos gave everything she could to protect another person. Her final act was one of courage, love and sacrifice.

On the day she should have been celebrating her 34th birthday, her family instead faced the heartbreaking task of saying goodbye.

May Priscila Alvares Pereira Dos Santos be remembered for the life she lived, the faith she carried and the courage she showed when a child needed her.

In loving memory of Priscila Alvares Pereira Dos Santos.

May she rest in eternal peace, and may her family find strength and comfort in the memories she leaves behind.