A body recovered from the Harlem River Thursday has been confirmed to be one of the two missing New York City boys who haven't been seen in nearly a week, according to a city official.
In a heartbreaking development, a family member positively identified the body pulled from the river around 10:15 a.m. from under the Madison Avenue Bridge as 13-year-old Garrett Warren, from Manhattan, the city official told NBC New York. Police had been searching in that area near 138th Street since Tuesday.
NYPD Harbor Units took the body to Randall's Island before the medical examiner's office took over. Harbor Units and dive teams are still searching the river, looking for any other belongings or clues. The search continues for 11-year-old Alfa Barrie, of the Bronx, who is still missing as of Thursday evening.
The community has been bracing for any details in the case for days, as the families of both boys said their disappearances were so out of character. Police said detectives had been "working around the clock" for nearly a week to find the boys and asked the public for help bringing them home.
Garrett had last been seen with Alfa at a fish market on 145th Street and Lenox Avenue in Harlem Friday night, witnesses said. A worker at Ana's Fish Market said he saw the boys in the store, where they bought a few items. He said they frequented the shop.
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As they were hanging out, Garrett and Alfa went back to Garrett's home in Harlem around 1:30 a.m. They left again to play basketball, and were last seen passing the fish market.
Barrie and Warren were last seen together, and police have previously said they believe the boys were together when they vanished.
According to his sister, Alfa went to school on Friday and left just after noon because the school had a half day. He was supposed to meet up with his 14-year-old sister, who attends the same school, and walk home together — but he never showed. That was the first indication something was wrong.
"This is something he has never done. This is all new to us. We have no idea what’s going on, he’s a sweet little boy," said Alfa's sister, Fatima Diallo. "Everything that’s happening right now, I can’t comprehend what’s going on."
The boys did not attend the same school, according to Alfa's sister, but they became neighborhood friends. Their families didn't know they knew each other. Family members and volunteers were passing out flyers Tuesday evening near Colonel Charles Young Playground — where the two missing boys were spotted on surveillance video at one point.
NYPD officials say they're trying to identify all the other kids who were with them and want to speak with their classmates.
Police say Alfa was last seen wearing a navy sweater with a "Democracy Prep Harlem Middle School" logo, gray pants and gray sneakers, police say. He was reported missing on Mother's Day.
Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS.
