Friends, family remember drowning victim

Family and friends of the 10-year-old girl who went missing while swimming Saturday finally have closure ? the girl?s body was discovered Wednesday morning. Akira Johnson?s body was discovered by a fisherman

News 12 Staff

Jul 31, 2008, 8:19 PM

Updated 5,922 days ago

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Family and friends of the 10-year-old girl who went missing while swimming Saturday finally have closure ? the girl?s body was discovered Wednesday morning.
Akira Johnson?s body was discovered by a fisherman at around 2:45 a.m. near Brighton Beach. She had been swimming with her cousin Saturday at Coney Island Beach. Both Johnson and her cousin were struggling, but Johnson was pulled under and swept away. The NYPD and the Coast Guard were searching for Johnson Saturday night and all day Sunday, but were unsuccessful.
While friends and family are devastated by the loss, they say they?re also glad she was found.
?We?ve got her, that?s all we wanted,? family friend Sandra Quinones says. ?Now we can rest. Now we have peace.?
A vigil was held Wednesday night in memory of Johnson. Mourners walked from the apartment where the little girl lived on 25th Street to the beach where she went missing, on 23rd Street. Candles were lit, and flowers were thrown into the water.
An autopsy is scheduled to determine the cause of Johnson?s death.
Body found off Coney Island identified as missing girl