Portugal’s Maritime Police found the Julian Amaral boat party body in the Tagus River on September 6, ending a four-day search after the 23-year-old was reported missing on September 2. The body was recovered near the quay of the Liscont Terminal in Alcantara, in Lisbon.
Amaral was last seen at the Vida de Jovem Boat Party on the Tagus River. CCTV footage reportedly captured him falling into the water, but the available facts do not explain how that happened.
Portugal’s Maritime Police search
Portugal’s Maritime Police said personnel from the Lisbon Local Maritime Police Command and the Lisbon Regiment of Specialist Firefighters were deployed after an alert at around 7.20pm. The body was recovered by firefighters, and a health delegate certified the man’s death. The body was then transported to the National Institute of Legal Medicine and Forensic Sciences in Lisbon.
The sequence is clear: a missing-person report on September 2, a search with divers over four days, then the recovery on September 6. That timeline is what turned a disappearance into a formal death case and moved the file from search operations to medical and legal handling in Lisbon.
Jennifer’s tribute in Portugal
Jennifer, Amaral’s sister, posted an emotional tribute on social media. She wrote, “Dear Julian, being your sister was the greatest privilege! You made me laugh, smile, reconsider so many things! You trusted me with your life! You were always the one to annoy me yet make me laugh in the same breath! I cannot understand why I only got 23 years with you!”
She added, “But what I do know is, I will live for you! I will accomplish everything I said I would when we spoke! I will go to the places we planned! But more importantly, I will never forget you and never stop loving you. Sleep well my beautiful baby brother! I love you so much!” The family has also launched a GoFundMe to raise money to return his body to the United Kingdom for burial.
National Institute of Legal Medicine
The Maritime Police Psychology Office is supporting family members as the case moves through the next formal steps in Portugal. For the family, the immediate practical issue is no longer the search itself but the return of Amaral’s body from Lisbon to the United Kingdom, where burial arrangements are now the focus.
The remaining open question is the one the CCTV image does not settle: what caused Amaral to fall into the water at the boat party.
