The 14-year-old autistic Queens, N.Y. teen, Avonte Oquendo, is still missing, however, some disturbing news has surfaced that may bring the case to a very sad end.
On Thursday, an arm was discovered by a teen walking at Powell Cove Boulevard and Endeavor Place next to the East River. The unidentified teen took a picture of the body part and showed it to her mother, who then called police. Police have since launched a search of the area turning up two legs and a torso and other items similar to those of Oquendo’s on the day he was reported missing.
Police said the body parts are being taken to the Queens County Morgue and the medical examiner will determine the cause of death.
The feet had a pair of size 5 1/2 Air Jordans, very similar to the shoes Oquendo was wearing when he disappeared from a school in Long Island City on Oct. 4. The area where the body parts were found is 11 miles from Oquendo’s school.
A search for additional body parts and clues resumed at 7 a.m. by the NYPD Harbor Unit, with a scuba team starting a water grid search.
In October, the NYPD’s Commissioner Ray Kelly said a school safety agent stopped Oquendo at the main door and told him to go back upstairs the day he disappeared. But surveillance video from the school later obtained by police showed Oquendo running out another door. The family has hired an attorney who is investigating the school’s lack of safety and how Avonte was able to just walk away.
