Heartbreaking tributes to boy, 15, found dead in river as mum says she ‘can’t go inside his room’
HEARTBREAKING tributes have been paid to a boy who was found dead in a river as his mum says she "can't go inside his room".
Oliwier Kaczmarowski, 15, was tragically discovered in the River Trent in Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, on May 26.
Oliwier was last seen on May 22, when he vanished near the water.
His body was sadly discovered four days later.
In a heartfelt statement, his family said the teen became the "man of the house" after his dad passed away.
Struggling to come to terms with their loss, they said: “It’s hard to find the words to describe how we’re feeling.
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"We still can’t believe that he’s gone. I don’t think it’s properly hit us yet that he is gone.
“As his mum, I still can’t go inside his room. Sometimes we don’t know what to say when people ask us about him.
"We have so many precious memories of Oliwier and I’m sure his friends have their own memories of him. We will treasure those memories we had with him.
“He took it upon himself to be the man of the house when his father passed away.
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"It was such a big responsibility, but he helped his siblings by being there for them when they were going through a hard time.
“Even though he bickered with his siblings a lot, he was incredibly protective."
His family added: “Oliwier had a small group of close friends and he enjoyed going out with them.
"He was a great friend, and we were told recently that he stepped in to help someone who had been bullied and took him under his wing so he wouldn’t be alone.
“He was very calm, he helped around the house by going food shopping, taking parcels to the post office and he was very funny.
"Some would say he had a dark sense of humour and it’s one of the things we remember fondly about him."
They also thanked the community who helped searched for Oliwier at the time.
They said: “We are incredibly grateful to the community for coming together.
"Everyone who came to support us, help us with the search and the vigil.
"There were people who didn’t even know Oliwier who came to help, and people have said nothing but great things about him. For that, my family are thankful.
“Some days, it can be painful to think about Oliwier not being here and that we’ve lost our man of the house.
"We love you and we will miss you Oliwier.”
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Specially-trained officers searched for Oliwier on the banks and in the water.
Cops confirmed at the time they were also using a special sonar boat to help as well as deploying divers.