Warren Garrett (13), a boy who had been missing since Friday, was found dead in New York’s Harlem River.
Authorities are still searching for his friend Alpha Barrie (11). Their families think they may have run away together. At first, it was said that they were classmates, but that information was later denied.
Early Thursday, around 10:15 a.m., authorities alerted to the recovery of a body found in the Harlem River under the Madison Avenue Bridge, which Garrett’s family later identified as his, NBC News reported.
The cause and time of death remain to be determined. Police had been searching that area near 138th Street since Tuesday. After the body was found, officers on foot and with dive teams are scouring the area for Barrie and belongings or clues about both children.
NYPD said its detectives had been “working around the clock” for nearly a week to find the children and asking for the public’s help.
Witnesses said Garrett had last been seen with Barrie at a fish market at 145th Street and Lenox Avenue in Harlem on Friday night. A worker at “Ana’s Fish Market” said he saw the boys in the store, where they did some shopping, as on other occasions.
Later the two returned to Garrett’s house. They again went outside and were last seen together. Police believe this is how they were when they disappeared.
According to his sister, Barrie went to school on Friday and left shortly after noon because the schedule that day was a half shift. He was supposed to meet his 14-year-old sister, who attends the same school, and walk home together, but he never showed up. That was the first indication that something was wrong.
The children did not attend the same school, but they became friends. Their families didn’t know they knew each other.
Barrie is 5 feet 2 inches tall and weighs 100 pounds. Anyone with information should call 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) and Spanish 1-888-57-PISTA (74782), also via crimestoppers.nypdonline.org or by text message to 274637 (CRIMES), followed by TIP577. All communications are strictly confidential.