UPDATE: Police divers have found the body of a five-year-old boy missing in a river near Moama, according to reports.

Yesterday, the mother of the boy was charged with one count of attempted murder charge after she allegedly tried to drown her two sons in the Murray River.

The woman’s nine-year-old survived the ordeal after she became distracted and a dog attacked her.

A desperate search of the river for his missing five-year-old brother continued until the discovery late this morning.

The woman, 27, whose name cannot be published for legal reasons, allegedly took the children on Wednesday from their grandparents’ home in Deniliquin in the state’s south, where they had been cared for during the past 18 months.

Police allege that on Thursday afternoon the woman arrived at a friend’s property in Moama, on the Victorian side of the river.

Shocking details of what followed were aired in Bendigo Magistrates Court yesterday, as NSW Police sought her extradition.

The court was told she took the children to the water’s edge and demanded her eldest son get in the water.

Detective Sergeant Trent Swinton told the court the mother was attempting to drown her eldest when screaming from her younger son, standing on the riverbank, distracted her, allowing the older boy to escape.

As he ran up the bank, he was also "savagely mauled" by the dog.

The mother then allegedly turned her focus to her youngest. He was last seen in the river, drifting face down in water, the court was told.

Camera Icon Police are searching the Murray River near Moama. Credit: METHODE

Det-Sgt Swinton said the woman told police of her "intention to kill both children".

NSW Police last night extradited the mother to Deniliquin "on an arrest warrant for attempted murder". The woman is scheduled to appear in Deniliquin Local Court today.

Earlier yesterday, a senior Victorian police officer described the incident as "tragic" and said that it "will rock the community of Australia".

Up to 30 officers searched to no avail until dark last night in the hope the younger boy would be found alive.

Camera Icon Police searching the Murray River for a missing boy near Moama. Inset a search vessel and a dog involved in the incident. Credit: Riverine Herald and Hamish Blair

Local community and emergency services are devastated by the tragedy.

The boys’ grandmother was last night keeping a bedside vigil at the Royal Children’s Hospital in Melbourne where the surviving child was recovering.

A lawyer for the grandparents said they were "devastated" by the tragedy.