Clothing on arm, torso and legs found near Queens shoreline match those of missing teen Avonte Oquendo: police source
The human remains were discovered in College Point near Powell?s Cove Blvd Thursday evening. ?Unfortunately there is good reasons to think it's him,? says David Perceman, the Oquendo family's lawyer.
By Joseph Stepansky , Ginger Otis , Ryan Sit , Nancy Dillon , Rocco Parascandola AND Mark Morales / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Published: Friday, January 17, 2014, 11:12 AM
Updated: Friday, January 17, 2014, 2:37 PM
Cops search for evidence after human remains were found near the DEP water treatment plant in Queens.
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The months-long mystery of vanished autistic teen Avonte Oquendo may have been solved with the discovery of an arm, torso, legs and possible rib bones near a Queens shoreline Thursday.
The remains, in clothing that matches Avonte?s, were found by a teenager taking photographs near Powell's Cove Blvd. and Endeavor Place in College Point about 7 p.m., police sources said.
Responding cops found the left arm on the shore after the tide washed out, sources said. On rocks about 15 to 20 feet away, they found the torso attached to two legs. The body was clad in boy?s size 16 black Old Navy jeans, white socks and size 5 1/2 black Nike sneakers.
The clothing matched what 14-year-old Avonte was wearing when he vanished from his Long Island City school on Oct. 4, police sources said Friday.
Under the jeans were a pair of large Fruit of the Loom underwear.
Near the legs police found bones that appeared to be human ribs. Also found at the scene was a possible segment of pelvic bone.
Cops rushed to expand the search immediately after the first remains were found. They were racing to find more evidence ahead of the incoming high tide.
Investigators said it did not appear the arm had been cut from the body. They said it could have come off as a result of decomposition.
The jeans were frayed, apparently from the water.
David Perecman, the Oquendo family's lawyer, said the dark colored Air Jordan Nike sneakers and pants appeared to belong to Avonte.
?The remains are decomposed so there really are not similarities except it's a size 5 1/2 Nike Jordan sneakers and size 16 jeans, which are both want Avonte was wearing on the day he left, which are troubling things to hear,? Perecman said.
Further identification wasn?t possible without forensic testing, he said.
?(The remains) have been in the water long enough that you can't identify the skin color. It's been in the water long enough that it's not an intact body .. It's been in the water long enough that nobody's reporting his chest or his head,? the lawyer noted.
Avonte?s mother, Vanessa Fontaine, is providing a DNA sample to test against the body. The boy?s father?s DNA is already on file.
"It's more than just speculation,? Perecman said, on the likelihood the remains belonged to Avonte.
?Unfortunately there is good reasons to think it's him," he said.
Two police divers have been in the water searching for more remains since 7 a.m. The murky waters limit visibility to about 18 inches, so the divers search by touch, using thick heavy gloves as they feel around the underwater rocks and crags.
Cops responded to a 911 call about the grisly discovery near Powell Cove Blvd. and quickly found the human remains. "Upon arrival, police discovered a possible arm and legs on the rocks of the location.
"The remains will be removed to the Queens County Morgue and the medical examiner will determine the cause of death. The investigation is ongoing," the NYPD said in a statement.
There were a couple of police cruisers at the College Point scene from the 108th Precinct, where Avonte's school is located.
Bloodhounds had picked up Avonte's scent in a marshy area near the school after he went missing.
Cops in College Point, however, said the cruisers were at the scene for "personnel purposes," unrelated to the discovery of the human remains. An NYPD van was stationed at the Oquendos' 67th Ave. home in Rego Park, Queens, early Friday.
Avonte, who is nonverbal, has been the subject of massive searches since he was last seen Oct. 4 walking past a security guard and out of the Riverview School in Long Island City.
The boy was wearing a gray striped shirt, black jeans and black sneakers on the last day he was seen alive.
His panic-stricken family and police distributed fliers begging for the boy's return and have endured numerous false sightings.
At one point, subway workers walked the tunnels in hopes of finding the boy who has a fascination with trains.
The unidentified teen's mom called police at 7:06 p.m. to report what her daughter saw.
The girl never disturbed the arm, which was bare and water-logged, sources said Friday.
Police scoured the depths of Powell's Cove until the tide came in late Thursday and continued the search Friday.
An official report written by Riverview School staffers showed Avonte disappeared from a group of students who were walking from a cafeteria to a computer lab, the Oquendo family's lawyer, David Perecman, has said.
Schools spokesman Devon Puglia said Friday that crisis teams were "standing by for whatever the school needs."
Perecman filed a $25 million notice of claim against the city on behalf of Avonte's family on Oct. 9.
With Thomas Tracy and Rachel Monahan
Read more:
http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/...#ixzz2qggejxKv
Originally Posted by neenerneener
word.
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Too soon? 
not like he's going to tell anyone.
